Paul was a master of the art of language. Whether he was preaching a sermon, developing a theological argument, debating with opponents of the gospel, rebuking men for their sins, settling disputes among Christians, appealing for mercy on behalf of a runaway slave, or defending himself against bitter accusers before a Roman tribunal, he was never at a loss for words. But when he reflected on the meaning of Jesus Christ and all he owed to Him, Paul found human language hopelessly bankrupt, and could only exclaim, "Thanks be to God for His gift beyond words" (2 Cor. 9:15).

If by faith we know Jesus Christ as our Saviour, then we have forgiveness of all our sins through His blood. In Him we are reconciled to God and may come boldly to His throne of grace and power. We are heirs of His kingdom. He is our Father and we are His children. He is with us always, and will provide for all our needs, will protect us, and guide us through all our earthly journey, and at last will welcome us to glory in His presence forever.

Whatever else we may or may not have, with blessings like these, our life, indeed, should be one unbroken hymn of thanks.

"Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Who, like me, His praise should sing?"

The Characteristics of Christian Thankfulness

How do we express our gratitude to God? How can you and I tell if we are really thankful?

Obviously, we praise God with our lips. The author of Hebrews says that through Christ we should "continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name" (Heb. 13:15). Words, nevertheless, are notoriously cheap, and the gratitude that contents itself with "Thank You's" to God, however piously and eloquently phrased, is cheap and insincere.

Real Christian thankfulness is a life-transforming dynamic. What, then, are its marks? Let us look at several of the most important ones.

If we are thankful to God, we shall obey Him. In nothing does Christian gratitude reveal itself more clearly than in obedience.

We tend to forget that God's great purpose for us is not merely to rescue us from hell. His ultimate goal is to mold us into the image of His Son, to make us altogether Christlike.

If you were to sum up the character of Jesus in a single word, what word would you choose? Love? Trust? Humility? Purity? Self-sacrifice? He, of course, embodied them all, and in perfect measure. But the word that best sums up the character of our Lord is the word obedience.

"My food," He said to His disciples, "is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to accomplish His work" (Jn. 4:34). That was His life-motto. With absolute truthfulness he could claim, "I always do what is pleasing to Him" (Jn. 8:29).

In everything He ever did, our Lord perfectly and completely fulfilled His Father's will. He obeyed to the letter all the demands of God's law, so that no fault or blemish could be found in Him. Then, in that same spirit of obedience to His Father's will, He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins.

God has redeemed us in order to make us like Jesus. If we are grateful for all that He has done for us, especially for our redemption through Christ's death on the cross, we shall express that gratitude by our obedience to His will. Out of our gratitude will be born the determination to live a yielded life, the desire to please God in all things. A thankful Christian is an obedient Christian.

A second, and closely related, mark of Christian thankfulness is service.

To be a disciple of Christ is to be a servant of Christ. If we live under the Lordship of Christ, you and I will devote our whole lives to Him and will labor steadily for His glory by ministering to the needs of others in His name. The supreme motive for this service will be our gratitude to God for His undeserved favor and goodness to us in Christ.