The Christian life is an experience and expression of gratitude. That is the basic theme of the Heidelberg Catechism’s discussion of the believer’s duty, and if it is not the only thing that ought to be said about our lives, it is certainly a significant part. Everything that we have, we have by grace. Even what we worked hard to accomplish and obtain was only possible by the grace of God. We are recipients of pervasive, abundant, and undeserved grace, and therefore we ought to be grateful.
Creation is gracious; the Lord did not need to create or anyone to love; he is self-existent, dwelling in perfect love and communion as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Covenant is gracious; God condescends to enter into relationship with Man, sealing his promise by oath and blood. Our election unto salvation is gracious; Yahweh did not choose us because we were better in any way than our neighbors; he chose us because he is good, not because we are. Our redemption is gracious; we are bought with the lifeblood of God’s Son, cleansed of our guilt, clothed with the righteousness of God so that our shame is covered, and accounted as law-keepers through the obedience of our Representative. Our adoption is gracious; we were by nature the sons of Adam and children of wrath, destined for judgment and condemnation, but in Christ by the Spirit of adoption we have been made heirs in the family of God. Our perseverance is gracious; we will not be saved unless we endure; we must continue to believe in and obey God, else we will be lost, but we do endure and shall because salvation is of the Lord, and he keeps his people. Our entire life is an experience of divine providence and grace; God works all things together for the good of those who love him, so we may boldly say the Lord is our Helper and we do not fear anything.
The Christian life is an experience and expression of gratitude, but Christian worship is an engagement in the corporate expression of thanksgiving. A person can be grateful without giving thanks. He may feel gratitude in his heart, but if it is not expressed, it does not glorify God. We may safely assume all ten lepers whom Jesus healed were happy to be delivered, but only one gave thanks to God. Worship is not about what you feel but what we say to God in response to his glory, goodness, and grace.
Many people measure the success of a Sunday by their experience of it. If the singing was good, the saints were friendly, or the sermon was helpful and strong, then worship was “good.” If the experience was less than satisfying, then we can only hope it will be better next time. But when we approach worship as a service of thanksgiving, we are enabled to worship no matter how the experience feels or seems to us. We are receiving God’s blessing and help through the means of grace, even when it seems otherwise, but we are not looking to the experience as the measure of our satisfaction. In this context, we are not coming to get but to give thanks for all the Lord has already given us, an abundance of good gifts which we daily enjoy.
As we prepare for the Lord’s Day, it is appropriate and helpful to meditate on how many reasons we have to give thanks to God. Every good thing we have ever received, experienced, or possessed came from his hand. Moreover, every unpleasant experience, every sin and shame, every failure and loss, every disappointment and sorrow, occurred under the supervision of a loving, faithful Father who works all things together for our good. Meditating on our blessedness will make us more humble, more content, and more grateful people, and only humble, content, and grateful people can rightly worship God. --JME
