Title: True Gratitude (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
[1 Thessalonians 5:16-18]
[16] ♠ Rejoice always [17] ♠ Pray without ceasing [18] ♠ Give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes, there will be people who think that no matter how much they try to think of something to be thankful for in their religious life, they have nothing to be thankful for, and that they cannot be happy no matter what their circumstances. You can't be grateful, and you may have more complaints and dissatisfaction. Some people say that you should always be happy, so there are times when you live a life of faith that is not virtuous because of the unconditional joy in sorrow and worry.
1) We must remember what Jesus Christ did.
We can rejoice, pray, and give thanks in fellowship with God when we remember what Jesus Christ did, even when we are happy, sad, difficult, or difficult in our daily lives.
There is a story about a man who actually lived in Boston. Every morning, he took a big bucket full of shrimp and went to the beach to feed the seagulls. At first people thought he would be a lover of animals, but as he continued to do it every day, he wondered why it would be better to give expensive shrimp to the poor. In fact, he had been in the Marines at the time of the war, and his aircraft carrier was sank by a typhoon, and he had to wait for a helping hand on a piece of wood barely floating. As many days passed, he grew tired and lost hope, and a white seagull flew over and sat on a piece of wood he had barely depended on. However, seeing the seagull, the man suddenly had an uncontrollable urge to live. He caught the seagull, ate it, gained strength again, and was rescued a few days later. After being resurrected, this man did this every morning out of regret and gratitude for the seagull. It is said that many people acted incomprehensible because of the gratitude and emotion that a life was saved by the seagull.
How are we? We died because of our sins, but if it were not for God's grace, the death and resurrection of the cross, and love, how could we have come to this place to thank, rejoice, pray, and worship? Aren't we living in complaints and dissatisfaction without gratitude and emotion for saving sinners like us out of love? God's grace and love, who saved us from the valley of the shadow of death, have come, but are we not living a life without gratitude? Aren't you living as a believer less than a person who gives shrimp to seagulls? Always remember what Jesus Christ did. I hope that you will come out with such a genuine confession that you will rejoice, pray, and give thanks for what the Lord has done, even in the face of suffering and hardship and persecution.
2) We must remember that Jesus Christ must come.
The Lord will surely come again. That is why we have patience, gratitude, and hope for today. Paul exhorts those who say that the Lord is not coming again, be quiet and the Lord who saved us and raised us will come again with a trumpet in the clouds.
3) Remember this challenging belief and faith.
Paul exhorts us to keep this faith only in Jesus with constant rejoicing, continuous prayer, and in everything thanksgiving. It is to remember that it is the will of God to rejoice, pray, and give thanks in remembrance of what Jesus Christ has done and His return.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. On this Thanksgiving Day, I hope that you will be grateful for the unthankful conditions. No matter how much we thank, we are not enough. Even if we use the sky as a scroll and the sea as our ink, we cannot fully express God's grace and love. Always rejoice, pray no matter what happens, and give thanks under any circumstances. Even if you don't, I hope you will be thankful to the faithful God for the worst conditions. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become all of us who do not lose faith and live according to the will of God until the day the Lord comes.