Clay in the Hands

What motivates gratitude?

I’ve been thinking about the idea for a while.  The more I have thought about the concept of gratitude, the more I am convinced that the ability to be grateful comes from a healthy understanding of who we are and what we deserve.

One of my biggest frustrations is to see a sense of entitlement in others.  This entitlement plays out in all areas of life – from cutting in line in traffic to expecting better service at a restaurant to how we act in church.  I get frustrated when I see someone hold up traffic so that they can cut across three lanes to go a different direction – their poor driving skills cause the rest of creation to be placed on hold while they get their way.  Well, alright, maybe that is a little exaggerated – but you get the point.

We all struggle with a sense that we are due – it is our right.

But is it . . . our right?

The truth is, if we were to actually get what we deserve, most of us would not like the results.  What our poor decisions and selfishness deserve would be eternal separation from God.  That does not sound too appealing to me.

But thanks be to God for his grace and provision of salvation.

Last night I shared a brief devotion with our deacon body from the Gospel of Luke.  The story came from Luke 17 – the healing of the ten lepers.  Out of the ten, only one returned to say thank you.  Where were the other nine.  Could it have been that they lived with an expectation that they were due the healing that they received?

We think about that and look down on their unappreciative attitude but let me ask – do we ever take God’s blessings for granted?

Gratitude comes from the realization that what we deserve is death and separation from God but what God offers is an eternal relationship with him.

That is something for which we can all be thankful!

Be blessed today.