Honor God with Gratitude

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:18-23 ESV).

Giving thanks is no small thing for the Christian. But far too many of us have the wrong impression. Deep down we may see the summons to thanksgiving as coincidentally related to honoring God. And yet, as our reading today shows clearly, we ought to all the more honor Him with our thanksgiving. Gratitude should never seem obscure to the very people who have the most to be thankful for. To sinners forever saved by grace, thanksgiving should be significant. It ought to be a central anchor point in our lives. Healthy Christians are thankful Christians. Thanksgiving is what we were created for, and it is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian (v. 1). Side by side with honoring God is giving him thanks. Don’t underestimate the centrality of thanksgiving. Gratitude is essential in doing whatever we do to the glory of God (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:31), and thanklessness is deeply intertwined with what it means to “fall short of the glory of God” (cf. Romans 3:23). This no small thing. Listen to Tremper Longman who gives us this jarring thought: “The real difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that the former gives thanks to God”. In A Praying Life, Paul Miller adds some similar reflections about the centrality of thanksgiving for the Christian. While it was thanklessness that was “the first sin to emerge from our ancient rebellion against God’ (v. 21), in our ongoing redemption, it is thanksgiving that “replaces a bitter spirit with a generous one.” Thanksgiving is important, essential, because the Christian life, from the beginning to end, is a life of extraordinary grace!