Thankfulness

Source: J. John

Matthew Henry, a Bible scholar who lived 1662-1714, was once accosted by
thieves and robbed. He wrote these words in his diary regarding his
experience: "Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before;
second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life;
third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth
because it was I who was robbed, and not someone else."

I must confess I didn't have a similar attitude when we were burgled,
although I did pray that the burglars would be convicted, that they would
repent and that they'd return the stolen goods. Unfortunately, I'm still
waiting!

Martin Rinkert lived in the town of Eilenburg in Germany 350 years ago. The
son of a poor coppersmith, he became a minister of his local parish in 1617.
Just one year later, in 1618, the Thirty-Year War broke out and Eilenburg
was caught right in the middle of it. In 1637, the plague that swept across
the continent hit Eilenburg and it is recorded that over 50 people died each
day. The man called upon to bury most of the corpses was Martin Rinkert. In
all, over 8,000 people died, including Martin's own wife, but his job was to
keep on digging graves. His ministry spanned 32 years and all but the first
and the last were overwhelmed by the great conflict that engulfed his town.
It must have been tough for Martin Rinkert to be thankful. But somehow he
was. After all, how could he manage to write this hymn?

"Now thank we all our God
With heart and hands and voices;
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom his world rejoices."

In the midst of terrible darkness and death Martin Rinkert was able to write
these words because he knew what it meant to be truly thankful. Thankfulness
is not about what we've been given - it's an attitude of gratitude.

Let us be thankful EVERY day and join in with the Psalmist who wrote:

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks
to him, bless his name. For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures
forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." Psalm 100 v 4-5

Let's not be like the nine lepers in Luke 17 (verses 11-19) who were
miraculously cured, but who forgot to return to say 'Thank you'. "Didn't I
heal ten men?" Jesus asked. "Where are the other nine? Has no one returned
to give glory to God except this foreigner?" Jesus was clearly outraged that
these men had not had the heart to express a little gratitude. In Colossians
3:16-18, the apostle Paul tells us: "Let the message about Christ, in all
its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the
wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with
thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father." Clearly, we
are expected to be grateful for both big and small blessings in our lives.

Agapé,

J.John
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