Thankfulness Enriched by Relief (Another Gospel Primer Selection)

The more absorbed I am in the gospel, the more grateful I become in the midst of my circumstances, whatever they may be.

Viewing life's blessings as water in a drinking cup, I know that I discontentedly focus on the half of the cup that seems empty, or I could gratefully focus on the half that is full. Certainly, the latter approach is the better of the two, yet the gospel cultivates within me a richer gratitude than this.

The gospel reminds me first that what I actually deserve from God is a full cup churning with the torments of His wrath. This is the cup that would be mine to drink if I were given what I deserve each day. With this understanding in mind, I see that to be handed a completely empty cup from God would be cause enough for infinite gratitude. If there were merely the tiniest drop of blessing contained in that otherwise empty cup, I should be blown away by the unbelievable kindness of God toward me. That God, in fact, has given me a cup that is full of "every spiritual blessing in Christ," and this without the slightest admixture of wrath, leaves me truly dumbfounded with inexpressible joy. As for my specific earthly circumstances of plenty or want, I can see them always as infinite improvements on the hell I deserve.

When I look at any circumstance that God apportions me, I am first grateful for the wrath I am not receiving in that moment. (The empty part of the cup never looked so good!)

Secondly, I am grateful for the blessings that are given to me instead of His wrath. (Life's blessings, however small, always appear exceedingly precious when viewed against the backdrop of the wrath I deserve.) This two-layered gratitude disposes my heart to give thanks in all things and it also lends a certain intensity to my giving of thanks. Such a gospel-generated gratitude glorifies God, contributes to peace of mind, and keeps my foot from the path of foolishness and ruin.

The Power of God (From The Gospel Primer)

"Outside of heaven, the power of God in its highest density is found inside the gospel. This must be so, for the Bible twice describes the gospel as 'the power of God.' Nothing else in all of Scripture is ever described in this way, except for the Person of Jesus Christ. Such a description indicates that the gospel is not only powerful, but that it is the ultimate entity in which God's power resides and does its greatest work.

"Indeed, God's power is seen in erupting volcanos, in the unimaginably hot boil of our massive sun, and in the lightning speed of a recently discovered star seen streaking through the heavens at 1.5 million miles per hour. Yet in Scripture such wonders are never labeled 'the power of God.' How powerful, then, must the gospel be that it would merit such a title! And how great is the salvation it could accomplish in my life, if I would only embrace it by faith and give it a central place in my thoughts each day!"

A Musical Instrument

I read something really sweet and encouraging this morning in Matthew 12 that I thought everyone would be blessed by! In Matthew 12:20 Matthew quotes from Isaiah saying in regard to Jesus, "A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench..." I looked at the footnote for this and it said that shepherds would often use reeds out in the field to make a small musical instrument to play on. The thing was that when they became worn or broken they were useless and so the shepherd would throw them away. You probably already see where this is going! We are like broken musical instruments but Jesus wants to come to us and fix us and play music on us again! It says "A bruised reed He will NOT break..." We are all of us bruised reeds. What sort of music does He want to play? The symphony of His grace and His mercy! And what's even more incredible is that the church at large is composed of these broken musical instruments! Millions of them! Every Christian in the world is a musical instrument! What could Jesus possibly intend to do but to fix all of us and make all of us play the sweet, sweet music of His grace? What will heaven be but a grand symphony with many millions of the musical instruments which God created to bring Him glory? How sweet that music will be! Be blessed, friends!