An Attitude of Thanksgiving

You may not be a surgeon looking at the power of life beating in a human artery, but all of us are drawn to see the glory of God in the heavens, in the innocent beauty of a child's laughter, in the warm embrace of a friend. Or rising early to leave for work, as I did recently, and seeing the geese flying in pattern over the colorful dawn skies, their instinctive honks praising God for the freedom to fly.

"And His grace is seen in His creation" is the sacred refrain of the believer.  In spite of your problems. In the face of your darkest hour, will you not look at the creative power of God and see that He who created a world out of nothing, He who created a Son of Man in the womb of a woman named Mary, He who gave you new birth when you were "dead in trespasses and sins" is worthy of your thanksgiving.

3. And we are shown that we ought to thank Him for His grace in salvation (read vv. 10-22 responsively).

to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

and brought Israel out from among them,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who divided the Red Sea in two,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

and made Israel pass through the midst of it,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who led his people through the wilderness,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who struck down great kings,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

and killed mighty kings,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

Sihon, king of the Amorites,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

and Og, king of Bashan,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

and gave their land as a heritage,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

a heritage to Israel his servant,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

We thank God for what He has done.

The psalmist tells the principle motif of salvation under the old covenant: the exodus from the slavery of Egypt to the possession of the Promised Land. And we are told that these things happened for our instruction, that redemptive history did not stop there, but the Exodus of Israel to a small patch of earth was only a living history metaphor for a world-wide work of salvation that would generations after generations of people from all over the world out of the bondage of sin and into the freedom of a new life. There is now a more glorious salvation. A more glorious promised land. And a leader more powerful than all of Moses' signs put together. For we should thank God for His Son Jesus Christ and for leading us out of the bondage of sin into the freedom of life in Christ. I read from Colossians 1: