11.22.2007

Are you glad or thankful?

To be thankful:


  1. There must be an object of the thanksgiving and
  2. That object must be personal and
  3. The object of thankgiving must be the provider of the gift for which one is thankful.


Illustrations:

  1. I am now relaxing in my leather recliner. The chair is comfortable. I am glad for my chair but it would not make sense to thank my chair for my comfort. The chair is impersonal.
  2. I am glad I have a LL Bean robe (which I am now relaxing) provided to me by my Mother last Christmas. After Christmas, I thanked my Mother for the robe that she gifted me with! My Mother was the object of my thanksgiving. She is a person, she provided it, and I thanked her.


Observe Psalm 100:

1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3 Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.


Note:

  1. Consider His provision: Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,"

    1. Salvation through His grace
    2. A free gift
    3. Something that would could not obtain by our own works
    4. Though the work of our Savior (observe broader context of Ephesians 2:1-11)

  2. Consider the Person: The gift of salvation is provided by the Person of God the Father, through God the Son, and applied by God the Holy Spirit. And so the object of thankgiving is Him alone!
  3. And so thanksgiving is to Him: "Make a joyful shout to the LORD" (Psalm 100:1)


Some are simply glad! Glad for the meal, glad for the day off, glad for football and family.

The one who fears the Lord, is thankful to Him.

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