Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; (Hebrews 12:28 NAS95)
My journey with Jesus has had many phases and flavors over the years. Early on I focused on sin, my deeds, and attempting to please the Lord in my behavior. Project elimination: get rid of the bad stuff. I had another period where I expressed concern as to whether I could commit the blasphemy against the Spirit. Later I struggled with grace and living on the basis of being forgiven (and sometimes I still do) or thinking life should now be easy since I believe. At another time, I emphasized prayer as a work to somehow conjure up God’s blessing or favor. If I am not successful or fruitful, maybe I need to pray more? In all of these heart orientations, something was amiss in me. Behind them all, I pictured God as distant, or as a taskmaster, but not as how He presented Himself in Jesus or Scripture. I missed that above all He loves and love rules in His Kingdom.
The more recent times have pointed me to an overwhelming sense of His love and what His Kingdom means. I sit in awe of the author of Hebrews and the above words. The permanent Kingdom, God’s Kingdom, will never be shaken and eternally remains a Kingdom in which He loves me. As a broken human, who loves proving his worth, that is a hard pill to swallow. Yet truth and reality continue in a Kingdom constructed thoroughly and exclusively on love, because that, more than anything else, characterizes God. Can I literally accept this fact in the core of my heart and soul? Can I live, engage others, as one who is beloved by God, secure in His unshakable Kingdom?
What’s this have to do with gratitude? Everything! Gratitude means I receive this now as real and actual. A Kingdom like this today, present in the midst of a broken world (my brokenness, included) fills me with hope. Through Jesus, my citizenship and belonging reside in the permanent Kingdom! God near, not far, present to me and interacting fills me with gratitude. The sense of His astounding love fosters a longing in me to invite others to enjoy this God I know through Jesus (He actually is too good to be true). I thank God and I rest in gratitude that the love I experience in Him awaits anyone I invite into His Kingdom.
For Reflection:
“We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks, for Your name is near; men declare Your wondrous works.” (Psalms 75:1 NAS95)
- What hinders you in receiving God’s love? What does this say about what you believe about God?
- What would regularly expressing gratitude to God foster in your heart?
