The Thankfulness of Jesus

 

In 2010 psychologist Robert Emmons and his colleagues wanted to know if there was a scientific way to prove the benefits of gratitude. Dr. Emmon’s team devised a study in which they monitored people’s thankfulness in connection with their general health. They divided 1,000 volunteers from ages 8 to 80 into three groups and each group was tasked with making weekly entries in journals. One group wrote five things they were grateful for. One described five daily hassles. And a control group listed five events that had impacted them in a small way.

The results of the study were revealing. Those who kept “gratitude journals” showed some amazing health benefits compared to those who only noted daily gripes. For example, grateful people had stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, more restful sleep, were generally more optimistic about the future, were more generous, more likely to extend forgiveness and had more friends.

Wow! According to medical science, gratitude is good for you! When you study the life of Jesus, you realize that He lived in constant thankfulness to His Heavenly Father. He was thankful when Mary interrupted the party with perfume. When He hugged children and watched blind people look at their first sunsets, Jesus was thankful. When the disciples returned from their first mission trip telling of all the wonderful things God had done, He rejoiced: “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth” (Luke 10:21).

When He broke the five loaves and two fishes to feed the multitudes, He gave thanks for the food (John 6:11). When He saw that His disciples were growing spiritually, He was thankful, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” (Mat. 11:25).

When Jesus stood at the grave of Lazarus, He wiped tears of grief from His eyes and gave thanks for the miracle He was about to perform (John 11:41-42). At the Last Supper, Jesus blessed the elements of the meal, which were also symbolic of His body and blood, making sure to give thanks for the opportunity to sacrifice his life for the world (Luke 22:19).

If Jesus was thankful, how much more should we be for the thousand blessings that flow into our lives. Max Lucado wrote, “To say thanks is to cross the tracks from have-not to have-much, from the excluded to the recruited. Thanks proclaims, “I’m not disadvantaged, disabled, victimized, scandalized, forgotten, or ignored. I am blessed.” Gratitude is a dialysis of sorts. It flushes the self-pity out of our systems.”

Does your happiness depend on what you drive? Wear? Deposit? If so, you have entered the rat race called materialism. You cannot win it! There will always be a newer car to buy or a nicer dress to purchase. And, since the race is unwinnable, you are setting yourself up for unhappiness. Define yourself by stuff, and you’ll feel good when you have a lot and you’ll feel bad when you don’t.

But Jesus shows us to be thankful for eternal things. What you have in Christ is greater than anything you don’t have in life. He gives us a love that’s unconditional, grace that’s always amazing, hope that springs eternal and salvation that cannot be lost by our own failures. The more thankful you are, the more God will work in your life. The Bible says that God inhabits the praise of his people. He uses your thanksgiving as an instrument of power in your life. So, take a moment now, and tell God everything you’re grateful for.

God and Government

 

Pollsters tell us that more Americans voted in 2020 – 154.6 million – than in any other presidential election in history. About 67% of eligible voters cast ballots that year, but that still means a third did not. That amounts to about 80 million people who stayed home. According to My Faith Votes, an organization who studies voting patterns among Evangelicals, they estimate that 25 million Christians who are registered to vote, typically fail to participate in elections.

That’s pretty amazing when you think about the potential those votes could have in swaying the outcome of an election – even if there’s chicanery like there was in 2020.

As a pastor, I’ve heard many comments and criticisms from people over the issue of faith and politics. Some say, “Christians shouldn’t be involved politically, because its dirty and worldly.” Others say, “You pastors shouldn’t talk about politics because we should keep matters of the State and Church separate.” Still others are more fatalistic, “It doesn’t matter how I vote; nothing is going to change.”

But what does the Bible say? Christ has called us to be salt and light in the culture (Matt. 5:13-16) and that doesn’t end the moment we step into a voting booth. We dare not neglect our privilege to elect the leaders who best represent biblical principles. The choice not to vote is still a choice, and evil prospers when God’s people say and do nothing.

Jesus has commanded us to influence our culture rather than isolate ourselves from it. Salt is a preservative. It may not prevent decay, but it can delay it! God has given Christians in democratic countries a unique way to “salt” our world that Christians in other times and places did not have. So, Christians should work to select leaders who will govern according to God’s principles.

But political change is not our ultimate goal. The Christian’s highest calling is to bring people into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Earthly governments can either hinder or facilitate this. Personally, I would rather live in a country where we have the freedom to fulfill the Great Commission than to live in one like China or Iran where Christians are imprisoned and killed for their faith.   

But we’re not called to save America. We’re called to proclaim the Gospel. What our country needs most is a genuine revival wrought by the Spirit of God. We need the same spirit of contrition that the Ninevites had in response to Jonah’s prophecy. They humbly cried out: “Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish” (Jonah 3:8–9).”

And don’t forget how many times in the Bible, the Lord providentially placed His servants in places of political influence. Jospeh was prime minister over Egypt (Gen. 41). Moses often contended with Pharaoh to “Let my people go” (Ex. 7). Nehemiah was cup bearer to the Perian monarch who petitioned that he be given permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 2). Esther saved her people from annihilation by speaking to King Ahasuerus. In the NT, John the Baptist preached to Herod (Matt. 14:1-11), Jesus interviewed Pilate (John 18) and Paul told his testimony to Agrippa (Acts 26). Clearly, from these examples God wants His people to involved in government where and when they are given the opportunity.

Ultimately, we know that no matter what happens in the coming election, God is sovereign over nations (Dan. 2:21). Don’t let the donkeys and elephants make you forget that you belong to the Lamb!