For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 4:15
Gratitude is an intentional response to God’s grace in our lives. Notice I didn’t say gratitude is a response to the circumstances of our lives. If that were the case, our gratitude would be contingent on things that are temporary and uncertain. We give thanks to God because he has given us grace.
Do you recognize God’s grace in your life today?
The more you acknowledge and appreciate God’s grace, in big and small ways, the more your heart will overflow with thanksgiving. And according to our fighter verse, giving thanks brings glory to God. Responding to God’s grace with gratitude reveals that you see everything as a gift from God. And the more you see God as a gracious giver, the more you will cherish his presence as the greatest gift of all. That’s the point of Christmas.
Jesus is not just God humbling himself. He is God giving himself to us. This is grace. Take some time this Christmas season to intentionally respond to God’s grace in your life. Maybe start with the basics—daily bread, a home, loved ones. But, don’t stop there. Go deeper by thinking about all that God has done for you in the person and work of Jesus.
Consider how he was afflicted and rejected so that you could be comforted and accepted. Consider how he humbled himself as a baby and on the cross so you could be elevated to sons and daughters of the King. Consider how even though your sins are great, his grace is always greater. Consider how through his death, you have been given life. Consider how the sufferings of this age are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
Can you see how the more we acknowledge and appreciate God’s grace in our lives that it must lead to thanksgiving? So, consider, meditate, and respond to God’s grace. This brings great glory to God.
