Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Thanksgiving part 2

Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5).

God is generous with us; He blesses us with everything we need to live and love and serve, and often much more besides. Sadly, we tend to abuse God’s generosity. We take His gifts for granted, we constantly whine for more, and we let our love for stuff get in the way of our love for God.

God fills our lives with good things that we rarely thank Him for. When’s the last time that you woke up and thanked God for giving you another day of life? How often do you tell God thank you for a clear blue sky or sparkling white snow? When’s the last time that you thanked God for your home or your job? And when the Lord forgives your sins, how hard do you try to resist temptation as a way to show Him your gratitude for His mercy? Or do you think to yourself, "It doesn’t matter what I do—Jesus will forgive me anyway?" Do you take God’s generosity for granted?

We also have the bad habit of never being satisfied. You see it at Christmas when someone is disappointed that there are no more gifts to open, even though the floor is covered in shredded paper. We are a nation of overeaters, because we always want just one more helping. People trade in perfectly good cars because they want something newer. People file for divorce when they think that another partner can better meet their needs. How satisfied are you with the things that God has given you?

Worst of all, we lavish more attention on what we have than on who gave it to us. How often is lying in bed more pleasurable than going to worship the God who gave you that bed? How often do you spend so much money on yourself that there is nothing left to give back to the God who filled your wallet in the first place? The Lord says You shall have no other gods (Exodus 20:3), yet how often do you let work or family or leisure time distract you so much that you forget about prayer or reading the Bible?

Thankfully, God is also generous in dealing with sinners. When we go to Him for mercy, He does not treat us as our sins deserve (Psalm 103:10). If we trust in the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood, He will wipe away our guilt and focus our attention where it should be—squarely on Him.

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