Romans 12: 3 I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
4-6 In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't. Romans 12:3-6
Cultivating Deep Gratitude
TV shows that would probably not go into syndication: “Who wants to be a millionaire and give it all to charity?” or “GSB” (God’s Showers of Blessings). How about “and now a word from your daily sponsor…the TV gets brighter and totally silent….and in a still, small voice we hear God.” I don’t think we’d better wait for any of the above before cultivating a deepening Gratitude for all we are in Christ—a child of God loved beyond measure and part of His body. If you have detached yourself from His body, do you know that just as fingers, toes, and teeth are reattach able so are you? Everyone and their sister, including O, says keep a gratitude journal. That’s good and I say “Amen, sister!” but also cultivate a deepening gratitude in your heart by “living in pure grace” which is defined in the Amplified version as ….grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance].
And say thank you to God for the service He calls you to and enables you to do. Everyday.
“And now we return to our program, God’s Got the Whole World and Me in His Hands.
Time to kick up my heels,
Mimi D
