Cultivating Gratitude

Reconciliation United Methodist Church June 7, 2010


a Monday Meditation by Pastor Baker
Cultivating Gratitude

Read Ephesians 5:15-20


Biblically speaking, "giving thanks" is the primary speech of humanity. God's Word reminds believers that when we say "thank you," we become more fully human and we enter more deeply into divinity. Gratitude is key to the spiritual life. Without it we cannot grow in the grace and knowledge of God. Without it we are diminished as people and we live a diminished life in the world. Gratitude is essential to a life of joy, a life of compassion, a life of fulfillment. Deep down, most of us already know this. Most of us are aware that the ability to express thanksgiving is part and parcel of what it means to be Christian. But gratitude does not come naturally. It must be cultivated.

Worship is the place where this posture of gratitude is cultivated most explicitly. It is where Christians are reminded that all our expressions of thanksgiving are really answering speech, responses to what God has already done in us, for us, and through us. It is not a coincidence that when followers of Jesus gather around the Lord's Table, they gather to pray "The Great Thanksgiving" - a prayer that expresses gratitude for all of God's mighty acts in salvation history.

The writer of Ephesians expresses this biblical truth clearly, reminding us to cultivate gratitude in our worship and exhorting us to do so regardless of our present situation or current life's circumstances: "be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"(Eph. 5:19). The alternative is to give oneself over to a spirit of cynicism and ingratitude, which when left unchecked, does more than diminish one's joy and contentment - it erects obstacles to our relationship with the God.

God Almighty, giver of all good things, help me to count my blessings each day and give thanks to you at all times for everything. Amen.

Monday Meditation is a weekly email ministry of Reconciliation United Methodist Church written by Pastor Kevin Baker.