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July 23 Daily Devotional

Thanking God for Grace in Others

Peter G. Feenstra

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1:4

Bible Reading

1 Corinthians 1:4–9

Devotional

Do you thank God for the manifestation of His grace in the life of other Christians? Expressing gratitude for God’s grace in others immunizes you against the deadly poison of hatred, resentment and bitterness that so easily gets into our blood. When you are able to thank the Lord for His grace in others you have an effective defence against envy, gossip and slander; it becomes extremely difficult to hold grudges or to be rude, unpleasant and judgmental. Thanking God for others delivers you from selfishness and sinful human pride.

Our tendency is to find reasons why we shouldn’t give thanks for God’s grace in others. How different things will be in our lives when we recognize God’s work in the lives of others—when we realize Christ bled for them as well. Those who thank God for His grace in fellow believers will not get out the nails to crucify a brother or sister in the Lord.

The apostle is not suggesting that we give thanks for God’s grace in others because the church is filled with perfect people. If it were not for God’s grace in Christ it would be impossible to do anything together. Grace is never an excuse to ignore or brush over sin. We don’t take sin and sweep it under the church pews.

When you give thanks for others you will be set free from an attitude that requires everyone to be like you. Instead, you will want to be more Christ-like. When you give thanks for others, your children learn the largest lesson you could ever teach them; they hear what is on your mind and they learn how to speak about other members. Think of what it will do for children in shaping their attitude toward their peers, if they hear their parents thanking the Lord for the grace that is manifest in every believer.

Giving thanks for God’s grace in others is never easy because it puts a knife into our own proud hearts. Yet we need to make every effort to do so for the well-being of the whole church. Let us make it a regular habit to thank God for the evidence of His grace in the life of others. Every time we do it we are honouring the Lord Jesus Christ.

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