Grateful Because
by Katie Harding on November 20, 2023
When someone asks you who or what you are grateful for, how do you answer? Is it the people you know, the world God made, or the things He has given you?
Recently, in reflecting on the Apostle Paul, I wondered how Paul could do what he did – sacrifice his life for the gospel; count his power, prestige, and pedigree as garbage next to the priceless cost of knowing Christ; and spend the rest of his life writing letters from prison. Not only did Paul not give up in the midst of suffering, but he considered it a privilege to suffer, as he later wrote to the Philippians: “For he [God] has graciously granted you the privilege of not only believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well” (Phil 1:29). I don’t know about you, but privilege has never been the word that comes to mind when I’ve experienced suffering.
Yet, don’t you wonder what motivated Paul to such thoughts and actions? We find the answer to this question in his letter to the Galatians. “…And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith [faithfulness] of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20b).
Paul understood the life he now lived looked nothing like the life he once lived. The life he once was lived was a life governed by the Law, obedience to the Torah, and was based on legalism — one had look good, do good, and be good to be accepted by God and others — and that legalism even led him to violently persecute Christ’s church and try to destroy it (Gal 1:13). The life he now lived was so different from that life.
Have you ever given much thought to the life you once lived as opposed to the life you now live? The mistakes made, the pain experienced, and even the hurt we caused. Days when we were so much fuller of ourselves than we were of Jesus.
Paul knew his life was changed because of Christ. He was still a Jew, BUT Paul was a Jew who believed that the Messiah had come in the sacrificial life of Jesus – who died so we would be forgiven of our sin and rose to give us new life through His indwelling Spirit: “…it is Christ who lives in me.” Paul understood he had a new life in the flesh, not because of anything he did, but because of what Jesus Christ had done: “…he loved me and gave himself for me.”
And Paul was grateful. Gratefulness is motivating, and it’s what motivated Paul to willingly suffer and even consider suffering a privilege. He understood he was justified (acquitted, no longer considered guilty, free from sin) — and so are we — ALL because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.
As we approach another Thanksgiving, let us reflect on the great love and sacrifice of Jesus, and may we not only declare we are grateful, but may we, like Paul, show we are grateful by the life we live and the way we love.