I’ve been thinking quite a bit about gratitude this week. Mostly I’ve considered things for which I am grateful as I consider the work of God in the ministry at GBC (more on that Sunday).
But in my contemplation, I’ve also come across two thoughts that should stimulate gratitude in all of us. The first is a consideration of what constitutes genuine gratitude:
Gratitude that is pleasing to God is not first a delight in the benefits God gives (though that will be part of it). True gratitude must be rooted in something else that comes first — namely, a delight in the beauty and excellence of God’s character. If this is not the foundation of our gratitude, then it is not above what the “natural man,” apart from the Spirit and the new nature in Christ, experiences. In that case, “gratitude” to God is no more pleasing to God than all the other emotions that unbelievers have without delighting in Him. [John Piper, God is the Gospel]
The second offers two actions to take to stimulate gratitude:
What shall we do to be thankful? Answer 1: If you wish to be thankful, get a heart deeply humbled with a sense of your own vileness. A broken heart is the best pipe to sound forth God’s praise.…Answer 2: Strive for sound evidences of God’s love to you. Read God’s love in the impress of holiness upon your hearts. God’s love poured in will make the vessels of mercy run over with thankfulness… [Thomas Watson, The Godly Man’s Picture]
Words of Grace 