Be Grateful to God. Tuesday First Week of Advent

 

Breakfast with the Word Tuesday First Week of Advent 

 

 

Luke 10:21-24

 

To be grateful to God is our ability to show sincere appreciation to God. We give God thanks when we sincerely appreciate all He does for us. Most times when we achieve success in life, we forget that there is a Supreme Being who makes everything possible. We relegate God to talk about how we work it to happen. We forget Someone who gives us health, inspiration, strength, life and even connects us to those that help us achieve our aims in life.

Jesus’ attitude today in the gospel shows us the necessity to appreciate God for everything He has done and continues to do in our lives. Be grateful to God always. Be grateful even when life is so hard and challenging.

 

A Little Understanding

 

To understand the gospel, we have to read from the beginning of chapter 10. In this chapter, Jesus sends out the seventy-two disciples and gives them the power and authority to preach the good news of the kingdom and to heal the sick. The seventy-two came back with joy and narrated how even the demons obeyed them. Imagine that kind of joy of seeing themselves do what their master was doing. But instead of praising them for a good work done, Jesus raises His eyes to heaven and full of joy through the Holy Spirit, He begins to thank the Father who made everything possible.

He thanks Him because God works in mysterious ways. He chooses the weak and the humble to make them strong. Man looks upward but God chooses the deserted, forgotten, the underrated and the little.

In this gospel, we also see the reason we do not have to look down on ourselves because others see you like nobody. God can still work with you. Always know that God still appreciates who you are. Do not see yourselves only on how people see you but see yourselves on how God sees you.

How to Be Grateful to Him

1.To be grateful to God is not only when you say thank you, Jesus. Someone may tell you “thank you” but deep inside His heart, He is not grateful. This virtue comes from the heart and reflects in everything we do. We can see how Jesus was filled with Joy.

When was the last time we sincerely and wholeheartedly appreciate God for everything He does? A Man seems to remember God only when bad things happen. Then we remember to blame Him. Be grateful to God when everything is going well with you. Also, be grateful to God even when it seems all hope is lost. Gratitude to God should be a lifestyle.

2. Secondly, One of the ways to show sincere appreciation to God is when we obey Him. Imagine how you would feel when someone you have been catering and caring for, disobeys and even insults you despite all you have been doing for him or her. It pains to see someone you have tried to wipe away his or her tears turn back to fight you. But sometimes we forget that we do this to God.

God gives us life, resources and places us in a good position but instead of using them to show how grateful we are to God, we use them to satisfy our political and selfish desires, make utterances that lead people away from God and intimidate those under our care. It is good to remember that the starting point of Jesus’ grateful attitude today is how the disciples obeyed His injunctions. How we do is also a pointer on how truly grateful we are to God.

3.Finally none of the disciples came back with a negative report. There was no mention of anyone who refuses to do the work assigned to Him. Therefore we show how grateful we are to God by the way we handle whatever that is given to us. Are you working grudgingly, with complaints, tired or full of strength every day? Are you always sad or happy in your places of work? True appreciation is revealed in how you handle that work that is given to you.

Let us be grateful to God for the life, health, strength, wisdom, protection, friends, families, positions, vocations, talents, gifts, time, places of work, the gift of vision, hearing, etc. The list is endless. We need to take time and count our blessings and hence live like truly grateful people.

May God continue to give you life and protect you. Amen

 

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