Gratitude 2

Yesterday, I explained the importance of gratitude to our lives as a whole. Gratitude strengthens relationships; when you are grateful, people are ready to go the extra mile and make sacrifices for you; but when you lack the spirit of gratitude, you lose your relationship with people and you become spited on. The news of your sad attitude goes round as one who isn’t grateful. As a result of this, an unforgiving heart grows in you, making you bitter and one who complains. The truth is that things won’t work to your favour; you tend to struggle to get anything done; you may feel you’ve achieved something but this comes with much toiling and labour.

Simon Peter asked Jesus in Matthew 18:21 how many times he was to forgive someone in a day, Jesus told him he should forgive a person 490 times in a day which of course what Jesus was actually saying was for us to always forgive.

In line with this, Jesus gave a parable which He likened to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven could be likened to a man who owed his master 10,000 talents (a hundred thousand dollars) and couldn’t refund the money. The master had already ordered that the man be sold along with his wife and children; but after much pleading the master had compassion on the man and forgave his debt and let him go.

When the man went out he found a fellow servant like him who owed him 100 denarii (ten dollars), he then demanded for his money by force, but the other man pleaded with him that he would pay up. The man wasn’t satisfied and locked him up; the news got to the master about what had happened and demanded to see the servant he freed earlier of his debt for he was very angry. The master said he couldn’t forgive a fellow servant of his debt that was worthless compared to what he was forgiven of. Due to this, the master handed him over to the torturers till he paid up [ref. Matthew 18:23-35]. Jesus said this is what His Father would do to those who do not forgive his fellow brother his trespasses.

You probably would say “but God has taken away all our sins, so why would He hand people like the man in the parable to the torturers on the last day?” The answer is very simple; an unforgiving heart is an attribute of an unsaved man and not a Believer. The bible says in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (NKJV). This is linked with what Jesus meant in the parable; if God could forgive our sins even when we didn’t deserve it, why can’t we forgive a fellow brother his fault?

It is the love of Christ towards us that compels us to become Believers. But when one becomes ungrateful for what Jesus did for him, he develops hate towards people and he finds it hard to forgive. He starts complaining about everything and won’t have compassion. If this person claims to be a Believer, it won’t be long before he backslides or become a religious fanatic. It is Christ’s love that gives us the reason to be grateful to people and where we are; it is with this that we allow the blessings of God to flow in our lives.

When you are grateful, you have peace of mind; joy flows through you and you start seeing your problems walk away gradually; sickness leaves, poverty goes, pain ceases and many like this. Always see the good in everything around you and be grateful for it, it is with this you would overcome and live the Christ filled life. This is because of the love Christ has for us and this is the gospel truth.

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t. Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations, you’re born again, you are now brand new!

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GOD BLESS YOU.

Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are gotten from King James Version (KJV)