"Tight lines" is a blessing fishermen offer each other, a wish for lines taut with the weight of good fish. May God grant that the lines written here be taut with His blessings.
Thursday, 19 November 2009 | |||
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Gratitude and Grace | |||
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In the season of thanks, I want to thank God for my mother,
who made me and taught me to do a number of things which I disliked at
the time. One of those things was writing "thank you" notes.
After a birthday or Christmas, I was always dismayed by the little stack
of cards that needed to go to my grandmother, aunt and uncle, etc. I
would put that chore off until strong words forced me to sit down and try
to create some sentences to express a boyish appreciation for what I had
been given. Some folks are more naturally blessed than I am with a readiness to offer thanks for what they receive. I have a cousin who lives an incredibly busy life, yet she always seems to find time to dash off a lovely and heartfelt message of thanks immediately in return for anything sent to her. Though, thanks to my mother, I'm better at giving thanks than when I was 9, it still doesn't quite flow naturally. It frightens me to think that I might have been among the nine healed lepers who failed to come back to thank Jesus in Luke 17:11-19. What I do know now, however, is what my mother helped teach me through experience. The offering of thanks in some way completes one's reception of a gift, so that what one receives is made even better and sweeter when you've expressed gratitude for it. I feel even more joyful and glad for a birthday present when I've taken the time to say thank you for it. I would say that gratitude increases the pleasure and joy of receiving grace. And, the pleasure added by saying thanks is not just the relief of meeting a felt obligation created by the giving of the gift. The felt need to return a gift in kind in order to feel comfortable is not necessarily gratitude, nor even the feeling of a duty to write a note or whatever. No, real gratitude adds to grace by adding appreciation and love toward the giver to one's experience of receiving. The added blessing is in the enriching of the relationship between you and the one who gives to you. So, it may seem odd, but I'm suggesting that our experience of God's grace in Jesus Christ is enhanced and deepened when we develop a habit of thankfulness toward our Lord. Thankfulness blesses Him, but by a wonderful turn that is itself grace, it blesses us. Happy Thanksgiving to all who might read this, and as always I welcome your thoughts. | |||
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I am the pastor of Valley Covenant Church in Eugene, Oregon. I love to flyfish and hike along the beautiful rivers in our area. I welcome your comments as I share sermon work in progress and occasional other thoughts.
Thank you for visiting this blog. I invite you also to visit my web page.
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Ann Farley-Rolle' Thank you, Steve, for your words. Beth & you are such a blessing to us! We give thanks to God for you! (11/19/09)