November 25. Glorify God by giving thanks.

It is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase

thanksgiving to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 415. Gratitude to God is a joyful emotion. We have a sense of joyful indebtedness for his grace.

So in a sense, in the very emotion of gratitude, we are still the beneficiaries.

But by its very nature, gratitude glorifies the giver.

When we feel thankful, we acknowledge our need and God's beneficence,

God's fullness, the riches of His glory. Just like I humble myself and exalt the server in the

restaurant when I say thank you, so I humble myself and exalt God when I feel gratitude to him.

The difference, of course, is that I really am infinitely in debt to God for His grace,

and everything he does for me is free and undeserved. But the point is that gratitude glorifies the

giver. It glorifies God. And this is Paul's final goal in all his labors. Yes,

his labors are for the sake of the church, the good of the church. But the church is not the highest

goal. Listen again, it is all for your sake so that as grace extends to more

and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God. All for your sake for the

glory of God. The wonderful thing about the gospel is that the response it requires from us for God's

glory is also the response that is most natural and joyful, namely thankfulness for grace.

God's all-supplying glory in giving and our humble gladness in receiving are not in competition.

Joyful thankfulness glorifies God.

A life that gives glory to God for His grace and a life of deepest gladness are the same life.

And what makes them one is thankfulness.