Day 7: Grateful for the Common and the Amazing!
6Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:6-8
In Paul’s day the Christian faith was new, and many challenges faced it, which we don’t deal with today. For example, some had come to the faith through a Jewish background, while many came to it through a pagan background. The matter of “special days” of worship, and appropriate foods to eat often caused great discussion and dissension among believers. Paul addresses the matter by saying, “Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God.” Paul wasn’t being wishy-washy here. He was setting forth an important principle: as long as we are living our lives with a desire to HONOR and GIVE THANKS to the Lord, our actions are secondary. Certainly, some actions are sinful regardless of our desires to honor and give thanks to the Lord, but there are many “gray” matters in our lives, and as long as we live those areas out with a desire to honor-or put God first, and with grateful hearts, God will show us what is truly right! Paul made it clear that there are no insignificant matters when it comes to living out our faith in Jesus, because we don’t live or die for ourselves---our lives and our deaths are to honor the Lord, since we belong to Him. Part of that God-honoring lifestyle is gratitude, gratitude for the common and the amazing! As we conclude this first week of our 40 Days of Gratitude, I am so grateful that God has shown us the appropriate response to all of His blessings, whether great or small—an attitude of gratitude!
Questions and Comments for Reflection and Action:
Have you ever been concerned about whether a particular, everyday action honors and shows your thanks to God? If so, take some time right now to work through it with God!
Take some time right now to review this weeks readings and write one truth you want to live out in the remaining days of Forty Days of Gratitude!