Gratitude by Cornelius Plantingaعينة

Day Four: Thank God! Why?

Scripture: Psalm 32:1-5, Isaiah 44:21-22, Philippians 4:6-7

In saying why we thank God as our Creator, it’s natural to start with the gifts of ordinary life such as food and family and friends and a measure of good health. It’s then fitting to thank God our Savior for redeeming us. The remarkable fact is that God saves sinners. It sounds so simple. God saves sinners. But behind this simple sentence is a world of suffering—the suffering caused by human sin and the suffering of God in redeeming it.

None of us can doubt the suffering caused by sin. Kids bully other kids in school and mock them online. Men beat up women and then blame them for causing the beating. People of majority groups scorn people of minority groups and find ways to let them know it. Heads of large nations cast their eye on the natural resources of small nations and devise ways to plunder them.

And yet, in recent decades, many of us have not heard much about sin, even in church. How do we thank God for forgiving sin when we won’t talk about sin? The writers of Scripture weren’t at all afraid to talk about sin. They kept repeating that God saves sinners.

• “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Tim. 1:15)

• “God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)

What follows this message should be full, hearty, and sincere thanks. We thank God not only for the forgiveness of our sins but also for God’s mercy that comforts and heals us when we are the victims of other people’s sins.

God will not tolerate sin, but God will forgive it. When God does this, sin is pushed out of sight, out of mind, out of the way, and can no longer get between God and the people God loves. To remove sin, God regenerates our dead hearts so we’re willing to confess our sins and seek God’s forgiveness. This is grace more powerful than we could ever imagine.

Grace is also expensive. It’s lavish, profuse, and uncalculating. The source of grace is not a small pipe with a thin stream but a huge fountain that sprays high and wide in every direction. John’s Gospel says that Jesus Christ came to us full of grace and truth and that He has poured it out on us as “grace upon grace” (John 1:14, 16). This is cause for thanks.

Where in your life do you find yourself thanking God for forgiveness? Where in your life do you still need to do so?