The Gospel for the Gentiles (3)
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:21 ESV
Give thanks – What does it mean to give thanks? The answer has to come from a biblical point of view. Paul uses the Greek eucharisteo, “to give thanks.” You will recognize it in the sacrament of the eucharist. The root is chario, the basis of rejoice, grace, favor and thanksgiving. From the perspective of the Tanakh, joy is found not only in God’s gracious offer of deliverance but also in His Torah and His promises yet to be fulfilled. The Tanakh’s idea of joy is both the witness and the experience.
So what does Paul mean in this verse in Romans? What are the characteristics of those who do not give thanks? If we follow the theme of the Tanakh, the theme that underlies Paul’s thinking, then we recognize that those who are not thankful are the ones who live without the joy of the Lord. Their promises are limited by their own imagination. Their lives seek fulfillment in their own accomplishments. They have a humanity limited to their own grasp. Their identities do not exceed their vision. They do not experience the cooperation of a divine universe of favor. They find it difficult to rejoice in all things. Their lives are not delivered from self-abusive and ego-excuse. For them, there is nothing more than me and mine.
Do you know someone who lives within the confines of life as it is? Do you know someone who can’t find rejoicing? Whose surface belies emptiness within? The failure to give thanks turns life into a burned meal.
Now, please, notice what Paul does not say. There is not a mention of forgiveness, of personal salvation, of confession or repentance. These people are not darkened because they do not acknowledge Jesus as Savior. Their despair comes from another direction. They do not fear God. Personal salvation isn’t part of this equation. They don’t lack “a wonderful plan.” They lack a basic understanding of the cosmos.
Those whom God darkens are not the “unchurched” or the “lost.” They are the self-absorbed, self-possessed takers of what the world offers. To be thankful requires giving and those whose lives are preoccupied with taking cannot be thankful because they believe that what they have was acquired by their efforts. It was not a gift. There are many who sit in the pews who said “the prayer” but are still takers. Religion and geography are not solutions. Opening the hand is.
Topical Index: thankful, chairo, eucharisteo, give thanks, rejoice, grace, take, Romans 1:21
~ it IS a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD and to sing praises unto His Name! ~ (Psalm 92.1)
When will we “believers” believe this?
I work with these people everyday. As the economy is Whaley and the future appears uncertain all I hear from their mouths is how to invest and despairing for retirement and blah,blah,blah. It makes me sad for them, so smart and yet so clueless.
Shaking economy .
I love second corinthians because it has so many key verses that get overlooked. 2 Corinthians 4:15 “For all things are for your sakes,that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.” Humility and gratitude are the two qualities needed for unconditional love. One to give it and one to receive it. These qualities can’t be created in the person but are acquired by experience in this fallen world. I think judgements and rewards will be revealed as much more our own choosing than we realize. Love is God’s currency; How much do you want? How much have you poured your “self” out. Pretty simple.
~ Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His Name ~ (Psalm 100.4)
Selah. Stop and THINK about this. Stop. Now. And Think. Think, and then THANK.
Let (allow) these three words to roll through your mind and then over your tongue and through your teeth: Thank You, God.
Son, when SomeOne does something nice for you, – it is “common courtesy” to say, “Thank You.” I know, -it’s just so “difficult.” (Really?) No,- not at all. Thank You, God. Thank You for all You do and Thank You for Who You are! God, You ARE Faithful and True. Always and Forever You ARE good!
When my offspring was very small and he would announce to us, “I’m stirsty,” we would use that opportunity to teach him, (in our attempts as parents to “train up a child,”-), “Thank You God for good water.” If a child may say this, what about a full-grown adult? May we also attempt and announce this together? “Thank You God for good water.”
Daddy, “where does water come from?” Son, -the rain comes from Above. God, our Creator, Maker and Sustainer gives unto the fertile soil, rain from above and the earth gives her increase. Every good gift comes from Above and rain is another “gift from Above.” Thank You God for rain.
Back in the day, in Elijah’s day, God withheld the rain from the earth for a period of three years, but faithfully provided during that trying and testing time. Here is a short synopsis of the story: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/Matthew-Henry/1Kgs/Elijah-Fed-Ravens .
I met my friend Jerry years ago and casually said to him, “Hi Jerry, how’s it going?” His reply remains embedded in my brain, even today- though it was decades ago when this occurred. Well.. Carl, right now it’s rather “hand-to-mouth,”- but* (I do love those “buts!”)- It’s God’s hand to my mouth- AND I like it that way!” Like an arrow, those words found their mark, struck me and (thank You God) stuck in me and stayed with me, “lo, these many years.” Friend, God IS faithful!. Friend, God DOES provide. The Eternal, Ancient Song still remains and is ever ringing within:
Come, ye thankful people, come,
Raise the song of harvest home!
All is safely gathered in,
Ere the winter storms begin;
God, our Maker, doth provide
For our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come;
Raise the song of harvest home!
We ourselves are God’s own field,
Fruit unto his praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown
Unto joy or sorrow grown;
First the blade and then the ear,
Then the full corn shall appear;
Grant, O Harvest Lord, that we
Wholesome grain and pure may be.
For the Lord our God shall come,
And shall take the harvest home;
From His field shall in that day
All offences purge away,
Giving angels charge at last
In the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store
In the garner evermore.
Then, thou Church triumphant come,
Raise the song of harvest home!
All be safely gathered in,
Free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified,
In God’s garner to abide;
Come, ten thousand angels, come,
Raise the glorious harvest home!
Words: Henry Alford, Psalms and Hymns, 1844.
“Let us come before Him with thanksgiving, and extol Him with music and song.” (Psalm 95:2)
Notice the date this song of thanksgiving and praise was written. (1844). Notice the “timelessness” of thanksgving:- this “ancient” song still applies today! ~Let us give unto the LORD the glory due His Name!~ O magnify the LORD with me and let US exalt His Name— together!! ~
O magnify the Lord with me,
Ye people of His choice.
Let all to whom He lendeth breath
Now in His Name rejoice.
For Love’s blest revelation,
For rest from condemnation,
For uttermost salvation,
To Him give thanks.
Let all the people praise Thee.
Let all the people praise Thee,
Let all the people praise Thy Name
Forever and forevermore.
O praise Him for His holiness,
His wisdom, and His grace;
Sing praises for His precious blood
Which ransomed all our race.
In tenderness He sought us;
From depths of sin He brought us;
The way of life then taught us.
To Him give thanks.
Had I a thousand tongues to sing,
The half could ne’er be told
Of love so rich, so full and free,
Of blessings manifold;
Of grace that faileth never,
Peace flowing as a river
From God, our glorious Giver-
To Him, give thanks.
~ For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen. ~
The last paragraph just smacked me in the face! I needed that