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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?”
Romans 11:35
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Thanksgiving Day is almost upon us, a day that calls us to pause and take account of all the many blessings we have in life, particularly showing God our gratitude for all He has done, all He is doing, and all He is yet to do.
In the spirit of this special holiday, the next three messages will center on the matter of giving thanks to God. Two of these messages will be the closing devotions in a five devotion series on the amazing nature of our Lord and the first of these is today as we look at God as the great Giver of all things. Look again at Paul’s words here from the 35th verse of Romans 11:
“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?”
In this series, we have already looked at God as the amazing Architect and Creator of everything. Nothing would exist had it not been for the work of His almighty hands and nothing survives without His provision. Indeed, God didn’t create living things just so they would perish. Rather, He provided the means by which they might survive until that appointed time when He deemed their life would end.
In the end translation, God is the Giver of all things and we are the receivers. James, the brother of Jesus, put it this way:
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.”
The scriptures affirm that every good and perfect blessing comes from our God above. He gives us everything we could ever ask for and more than we deserve so we should see that we are indebted to Him and always seek to give back to Him through our faithful service, doing so even though we’ll never be able to fully repay Him for all He has done for us.
In the end translation, we depend on God, not the other way around. God can do any and all things without us and yet He uses us for great purposes to ensure His kingdom work is done, to include being instruments of His giving. He doesn’t rely on any human being nor is He indebted to anyone or anything.
And even when we are charitable through giving to others, we are only blessing someone with what God has first given us. All giving traces back to the “Father of the heavenly lights” who provides “every good and perfect gift” from above.
This Thanksgiving, as you gather with your family or friends, I pray your focus will be on the Giver more than the gifts, on our amazing Lord who makes all things possible.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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