In preparation for this Sunday’s sermon, I came across a wonderful quote from the German mystic, Meister Eckhart. “If the only prayer you say in your whole life is ‘thank you,’ that would be sufficient.”
The word “thanks” just rolls off our lips, often with little thought or meaning intended. A stranger holds a door for us and we respond, “thanks.” We appreciate their thoughtfulness and respond with a word of gratitude. We are polite, but probably shallow. We show good manners if not true gratitude. I suppose that if you were in a wheel chair and couldn’t open a door without help, your “thanks” would be more heartfelt.
When you thank God as a regular part of your routine, such as at meal time, or when you thank God for something exceptional, you admit your need for God. There is a certain humility in saying “thanks” when it comes from the heart. Your giving thanks before a meal, for example, says that even though you may have “earned” your food, you receive it as a gift from a gracious God.
Thanking God is more than being polite or showing good manners. Your “thanks” tells God that you know that He is the Creator and you are the creature. That He is the Giver of every good and perfect gift while you only receive His gifts.
The Psalm of the Day for this coming Sunday, Holy Trinity Sunday, is Psalm 8. That Psalm begins and ends with the words: “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth.” God’s majesty can be seen in the sky on a clear night or on the shore of the ocean at sunset. God’s vastness, His infinite power, and His excellence are declared by His creation. His mercy, however, is seen in Jesus Christ and that mercy is the reason for our thanks.
Maybe you could say a prayer of thanks to God right now – for no particular reason. Thank Him for who He is and for His Son, Jesus. Thank Him for His majestic name that is seen throughout the earth. Thank Him, just because.
|