Repay? Or be Thankful?

A friend shared that she struggles to be thankful. She explains that years of being cared for by God without a great deal of stress seems to cause her to take His care for granted. We are supposed to be thankful. It is part of worship and my friend agrees with verses like these:

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

That said, I was a bit surprised at the first line in today’s devotional reading: “Gratitude is a joyful emotion for worship but a dangerous motive for obedience.” Piper adds, “How can we not be thankful when we owe everything to God?”

He went on to explain that gratitude is a dangerous motive for obedience as it tends to be expressed in debtor’s terms like, “God has done so much for me… I owe Him everything…” But is that possible? How could anyone pay Him back for the grace He has given us?

“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:35–36)

It is impossible because all we have already belongs to Him. Do I think of my life and possessions that way? I cannot even take another breath — being alive is his gift. Having a comfortable home, and a remarkable church and church family, and children and their children, and abilities and all else is because of God’s goodness. All belongs to Him ad well. I’ve only my gratitude.

Lately becoming aware of helplessness and weakness without Him, and aware that all strength to do His will is due to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes Christians say, “I did this for God” or “You need to obey Him” as if they do not understand what Jesus said:

Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:3–5)

This is clear, and even the abiding is His work because apart from Him I cannot abide or would not want to. Like those who resist all that God requires, unless I’m filled with the Spirit of God and yielded to His leading, I am just like them. How can I pay anything back to God unless He does His work in my heart? And even then, it is never enough.

One thought: I do owe love to God and to others, yet even being able to love is also a gift by grace, meaning we do not earn or deserve it or payback God for it…

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:7–12)

PRAY: Jesus, I’ve never thought about paying You back. It sounds too much like arrogance, as if I have the ability and means in myself to do it. Keep me from having a wrong motive pressing me into anything but loving obedience.

His incredible love…

Insurance policies and other legal documents use the term “an act of God” which is defined as an instance of uncontrollable natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, meaning  anything that is beyond the control of humans. Acts of God do not absolve people from a duty to exercise reasonable care.

It interests me that this term is used only for disasters. Seldom do I hear sunshine, a balmy breeze, the birth of a baby, the bloom of flowers, or the soft wool of a lamb called an act of God. No wonder the idea of God loving us is difficult for many people to accept. He gets blamed for all the negative things we cannot control but evolution takes credit for the positives. Regardless, the Bible says:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:7–12)

This passage offers several clues to why the term “an act of God” is used as it is. One, those who know God will know that He loves people, and will love people too. But those who do not know God cannot love like He does. Many who don’t know God assume that whatever makes them uncomfortable or stressed is not good. Without knowing God, it is difficult if not impossible to see that He uses all things for the good of those He loves. We who know Him are told to be joyful in trials for God is using them to mature us. (Romans 8:28-29, James 1:2-4)

Second, the love of God sent Jesus into this world to die for our sins. The people who know this also know their sin is harmful and can ruin their lives. Eventually we learn that the love of God exposes and deals with our sin, not because He wants to hurt us but to rescue us from sin’s destructive power. His love will go to great lengths to get that job done. It includes kindness:

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)

Yet His love also includes discipline:

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:6–11)

Such discipline may come through an “act of God” that I cannot make happen nor prevent. God knows what I need to be more like Jesus, and He also knows how to get me there. It might be His incredible kindness (I have seen it in my hospital stay) or in trials that I cannot control, such as being unwell without any apparent lack of self-care on my part. He is training me to be more kind by example and to be more patient by helplessness. He teaches me that all events of life including “acts of God” open my eyes to His great love that wants only the best for me, and that best is being like Jesus. And as today’s devotional says, the first step into the life hid with Christ in God is that of entire consecration. I must do it gladly, thankfully, and enthusiastically and can, because seeing all things as acts of God is the most joyful way to live.

PRAY: Lord God, as You work all things so I might be like Jesus, I sometimes feel sorry for myself as I forget the love that motivates Your will. Mercy and genuine pity for spiritual bondage is far more important than mercy and pity for physical discomfort. I’m glad You will never stop loving me.

Life’s Lessons

 

Today’s devotional begins by saying Peter learned five lessons that every believer must also learn. These lessons were part of what he needed to be an effective leader, but they were also important in the transformation process of salvation. Each Christian is to be like Jesus and God uses all things to make that happen.

The devotional lists these five for Peter: submission, restraint, humility, sacrifice, and love. While these qualities are important for every believer regardless of the life Jesus’ calls us to, the methods He uses vary. I learned submission by being married to an unsaved husband. Even though my husband is now a godly Christian, that lesson is never 100% learned. I experience constant opportunities to practice yielding to my sovereign God who controls all demands on my life.

Restraint is about self-control, listed in Galatians 5 as a fruit of the Spirit. This is not me controlling myself but me under the directing and enabling power of the Holy Spirit. Learning this requires realizing the futility of self-effort. It means paying attention to what works and what does not bring results that please God. It means believing Jesus when He says:

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Restraint is a huge lesson because ‘self-effort’ is the root of sin, the “turning to my own way” described in Isaiah 53:6. We are born with this ‘I will do it myself’ attitude and the Bible continually tells me to put it to death, to walk in the Spirit and not indulge in that old way of life. Much of self-effort is unconscious and it takes a lifetime to become aware of my tendency to take control rather than trust and obey God.

Humility is part of that lesson. My proud old nature thinks I am able. The gospel is an insult to pride. It says NO to all self-effort and while it tells me to “work out my own salvation” it also adds: “ . . . for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure”. (Philippians 2:13) I cannot save myself or keep myself saved.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

Hearing the gospel is good news, but it is also humbling. So are the many times that I fail because I deferred to my own efforts instead of trusting Christ and asking Him to fill me with His Spirit that I might think, talk, and act in ways that please Him rather than doing my own thing.

Sacrifice is learned in family life, in giving up what I want for what is best for my children. It is also related to the lesson of love because the love of God involves sacrifice.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:7–12)

God’s love is expressed at the Cross, but even coming here to live among us was a sacrifice. He gave up glory to be a man, a servant who died for sinners. He says that anyone who loves does it because of knowing His love, and that involves giving up what I want — to care for and serve others. Who knows what my life would be like had I went my own way, used my skills for self-advancement, ignoring the love of God and refusing to express it by sacrifice.

Sacrifice goes beyond saying no to sin. It means saying no to perfectly good activities as well. This is a challenge when doing something for those who might not even say thank you. Being like Jesus involves the attitude, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

Jesus, You remind me of other lessons, such as believing You keep all Your promises and that You are sovereign, even when life’s events hurt or do not make sense. You love me and even my worst failures do not turn off Your great heart. You hate sin and wants godliness far more than You want me to be comfortable. You hear and answer my prayers in ways I never imagined. Telling You what to do is arrogant and lack of faith. So much more. Thank You for teaching me and being my example!

NOTE the encouragement in 2 Peter 2:3-10 and the way to firmly plant these lessons in my heart and life.