THE ROOTS OF GRATITUDE

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   We are approaching Thanksgiving Day.  The day was set aside for the celebration of harvest and other blessings families received throughout the year.

 

B.   The Bible exhorts us to be a people who give thanks.

1.    Psalm 100:4

 

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:  be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

 

2.    2 Thessalonians 5:18

 

In everything give thanks:  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

 

C.   One would think that rendering thanks is an easy thing to do, but it is not.  Remember Jesus’ healing of the ten lepers?  (See Luke 17:17-18)

 

And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed?  but where are the nine?  There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

 

1.    Nine out of ten did not return and give thanks.

2.    How many times have we done something nice for someone, but we never received a “thank you” in return.

3.    Perhaps we have been guilty of failing to give thanks as well.

 

D.   Christians ought to be filled with gratitude.  Too, we should be individuals who give more thanks than any other individuals on the earth.  To become this, we need to understand “The Roots of Gratitude.”  That will be the subject of this lesson.

 

I.             A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GIVER

 

A.   Gratitude is often rooted in a relationship that we have toward the individual who gives to us.

1.    Parent/child, husband/wife, friends, co-workers, etc.

2.    The closer the relationship, the more precious the gift, even if the gift is extremely small. 

a.    A grandparent takes his grandchild for ice cream.

b.    A small child picks a wildflower from the yard and gives it to his mother.

 

B.   Our relationship to God is that of a Father and child.

1.    2 Corinthians 6:18

 

And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

 

2.    Romans 8:16

 

For the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

 

3.    1 John 3:1

 

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God…

 

C.   Jesus noted our relationship to the Father and its connection to God’s gifts to us in Matthew 7:11.

 

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall the Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

 

II.           A RECOGNITION OF THE COST/VALUE OF THE GIFT

 

A.   For there to be gratitude, the receiver must recognize the cost of the gift that is given to him.

1.    Many times the cost involves a dollar amount.

2.    The value of the gift can involve the time and effort needed to produce it.

3.    The value of the gift might just be the thought of the heart who gave it.

 

B.   God’s gift of salvation

1.    What was the cost?

2.    The cost was the shed blood, that is, the life of the Son of God.

a.    Ephesians 1:7

 

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

 

b.    1 Peter 1:18-19

 

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

 

c.    Revelation 1:5

 

…Unto him that love us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

 

C.   Gifts can be precious without any money being given for them.  Our gift of salvation is precious, that is, valuable.  It cost Jesus His blood.

 

III.         A REALIZATION THE GIFT IS NOT EARNED BY THE RECIPIENT

 

A.   A gift is not something earned by the one who receives the gift.

1.    The recipient did not work for the gift.

2.    The recipient did not spend his money for the gift.

3.    The recipient did not labor to make the gift.

4.    Gifts are free.  They are designed to thank, to honor, to show appreciation, to manifest love, and to bless the one to whom they are given.

 

B.   God’s gifts of Jesus, salvation, the Scriptures, and eternal life are not earned by any of us.

1.    John 4:10

 

Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

 

2.    Romans 6:23

 

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

3.    Ephesians 2:8-9

 

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:  it is the gift of God.  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

 

C.   A gift is not something the recipient deserves.  It is something provided to him based on nothing that he has done to receive it.

 

IV.         A REGARD THAT THE GIVER DID NOT HAVE TO GIVE THE GIFT

 

A.   No giver of a gift is bound to give the gift to the recipient.

1.    There is no law of man.

2.    There is no command from God.

3.    The giver gives because he wants to give.

 

B.   God was not obligated to give Jesus on the cross to die for our sins.

1.    The wages of sin is not life, but death (Rom. 6:23).

2.    The soul that sinneth is shall die (Ezek. 18:20).

3.    God could raise up children unto Himself from stones on the ground (Matt. 3:9).

 

V.           A RAGE TO PLEASE GOD

 

A.   The Christian’s life is supposed to be lived with the intent of pleasing his heavenly Father.

 

B.   Jesus manifested this mindset at His baptism and the Father commended Him (Matt. 3:17).

 

And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

 

C.   The Bible does not just suggest that we give thanks.  It commands us to give thanks (Eph. 5:20).

 

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

VI.         A RAPTURE OF KNOWING ANOTHER IS THINKING OF ME

 

A.   When another person bestows a gift upon us, it means that there was a period of time in that individual’s life that he/she was thinking specifically of you.

 

B.   To think that there are individuals in our world who have the desire to center their thoughts upon us in a positive way should absolutely fill us with joy.

 

C.   This is a wonderful thought for the child of God.  God centered His holy and divine thoughts on me and sent forth the gift of His Son so I would obtain eternal salvation.

1.    Habakkuk 3:18

 

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

 

2.    Isaiah 61:10

 

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me in the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

 

VII.       A RESPECT FOR THE GIVER’S AFFECTION

 

A.   Not only does the giver of the gift think of the recipient, he usually has some type of affection, affinity, or love for the individual to whom the gift is going.

 

B.   The recipient should respect the giver’s affection for him. 

 

C.   This was certainly true of God (1 John 4:9-10).

 

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   We have discussed the roots of gratitude in this lesson.

1.    A relationship with the giver

2.    A recognition of the cost/value of the gift

3.    A realization that the gift is not earned

4.    A regard that the giver did not have to give the gift

5.    A rage to please God

6.    A rapture knowing one is thinking of the recipient

7.    A respect for the giver’s affection

 

B.   If these roots run deep into the heart of the one who receives a gift from another, gratitude will spring forth from his heart like a fragrant blossom.  He will manifest an abundance of thanksgiving.

 

C.   And, even though the giver did not expect anything in return, he rejoices when another expresses appreciation for the kindness and love he/she expressed.  In essence, gratitude becomes the gift to the giver.