Taking Grace for Granted

This Sunday is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Therefore it is an appropriate time to reflect upon the act of giving thanks, of expressing our gratitude.


This year for Thanksgiving I will gather with my family at my parent's home. Most of my brothers will be there with their families. One of my brothers will be there without someone very dear to him: his wife who died two years ago. Whenever we have gathered, we always took for granted that everyone would be there. The kids would be a little older, and there would always be the latest exploits of our children to share. But the death of my sister-in-law came way too soon, at way-too-young an age.


So when I look around the family, I don't take it quite for granted anymore. The blessings that are there are not necessarily a given. 


How many things in our life do we take for granted? How many things do we fail to give thanks for? How many times do we receive a gift and forget to express our gratitude? I know that I have done this far too often than I would like to admit.


This Sunday's scripture reading is a story about ten people who all received healing from Jesus, but only one remembers to express his gratitude. Read about it:

Luke 17:11-19


Gratitude is related to an old theological concept called grace. Grace is a word that gets thrown around a lot. Basically it has to do with receiving something we have done nothing to deserve. A gift given to us that is not due us in return for something we have done or earned. Grace my even be something good given us in spite of what we have done or who we are or how we live. In the Christian tradition, God bestows upon us many blessings as acts of grace, because God not only loves us, but because God is love.

Grace in the Wesleyan tradition: This site describes John Wesley's particular understanding of how God's grace functions.


But I invite you to think for a moment about the things you often don't think much about:

  • Family
  • Friends
  • People who care about you at church
  • Your health (in whatever state it might be)
  • Freedom
  • Your Education
  • Those who serve you everyday in various ways
  • The roads you drive on and the government responsible for building and maintaining them
  • Groceries in the grocery store
  • Clean fresh water delivered to your sink and shower
  • ... You add your own items to the list
What all do we take for granted? And how might we properly express our gratitude?





Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 17, 2009 at 11:07 PM

    Other things I take for granted: my job and the flexibility I'm lucky to have with it, internet access that allows me to read this, and ease of transportation to visit family far away. Thanks for the reminder, Craig!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pastor CraigNovember 18, 2009 at 11:06 AM

    Absolutely and amen to your list. Indeed, this year I will be driving to Beaverton to be with my family. Driving! What takes me 12 hours would have taken MONTHS 150 years ago.

    ReplyDelete

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