God Expects Gratitude When He Gives Us Gifts

By A.W. Tozer

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
2 Corinthians 9:15

        Because we are so very human there is real danger
that we may inadvertently do the human thing and turn
our blessings upside down. Unless we watch and pray
in dead earnest, we may turn our good into evil and make
the grace of God a trap instead of a benefit!

       Men are notoriously lacking in gratitude. Bible
history reveals that Israel often took God's gifts too
casually and so turned their blessings into a curse. This
human fault appears also in the New Testament, and the
activities of Christians through the centuries show that as
Christ was followed by Satan in the wilderness, so truth
is often accompanied by a strong temptation to
pride.

        Among the purest gifts we have received from God is
truth. Another gift, almost as precious, and without which
the first would be meaningless, is our ability to grasp truth
and appreciate it.

       For these priceless treasures we should be profoundly
grateful; for them our thanks should rise to the Giver of
all  good  gifts  throughout  the  day  and  in  the  night
seasons. And because these and all other blessings flow
to us by grace without merit or worth on our part, we
should be very humble and watch with care lest such
undeserved favors, if unappreciated, be taken from us!

The very truth that makes men free may be and often
is fashioned into chains to keep them in bondage. Never
forget that there is no pride so insidious and yet so
powerful as the pride of orthodoxy.

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Yours in Christ,
Paul N. F.