Living Thankfully

What motivates us is interesting, and there are many: love, anger, grief, joy, greed, selfishness, personal gain. When my boys were young, the prospect of less stuff and less privileges proved to be a pretty strong motivator!

The only pure and undefiled motive for service is love for God. Too many Christians serve God from a foolish sense of debt, to which they become trapped. Truth is, we do not serve out of gratitude because there is nothing we can DO to repay God for what He has done! His grace is a free gift! The women of Luke 8 -- Mary [Magdalene], Joanna, Susanna – personally contributed financially to the ministry of Christ. They didn't do this out of some false sense of gratitude to The Savior although that alone was great. No, quite simply, they loved Jesus. There’s nothing magical about the one Thursday in November; actually, it’s the extra with respect to how genuinely grateful we are. The deepest gratitude comes from a heart of love and devotion to Christ; that alone causes us to testify of His greatness and respond with faithful obedience. The best motivator to thanks-giving is a heart committed to living thankfully all year long!