| “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” |
| —2 Corinthians 9:11-12 |
Joyous gratitude produces the unselfish, and effective service of God’s people.
The Apostle James reminds us that we display our faith by the good things we do. (James 2:18) If we feel grateful for all God has done for us, we express that gratitude in the same kind of generosity with which God has blessed us. I call this the “Cycle of Grace.”: God gives to us. We gratefully give to others. The others in turn thank God for His goodness.
I like this short and to-the-point story found in Matthew 8:14-15:
When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
In Acts 28:7-10, Paul tells of the shipwrecked prisoners and soldiers with him on the island of Malta and the chief official of the island, Publius:
His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.
Their gratitude resulted in the gifts these sailors needed.
When I was growing up in my church youth group, we would sing the little chorus:
After all He’s done for me,
After all He’s done for me,
How can I do less than give Him my best,
And live for Him completely,
After all He’s done for me.1
If we want to be like Christ, we should seek to copy the way He lived. He always thanked God for the food, and often showed His gratitude in prayer for other gifts that God had given Him. Then, out of love for God, and gratitude, Jesus gave in like manner to everyone around Him.
With all that God has given us, He expects gratitude—the kind of gratitude that joyously serves Him in the lives of others.
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| 1 Daasvand, Betsy. After All He’s Done For Me. Carol Stream, IL: Hope Publishing Co., 1940. |
