I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1:4
Two of the most powerful words in language are ‘Thank You’. You learned it as a kid. Always say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. That’s the way life works. Sometimes it’s easy to say thank you. When someone opens a door for you, lets you in to traffic, offers you a cold drink on a hot day, ‘thank you’s’ are in order.
But what about those other times. Do you say thank you to the rude store clerk. Do you say thank you to the person who cuts you off in traffic? Do you say thank you to the person who, once again, is critical of you or how you do your job? ‘Of course not’ you say, right?
But Jesus would. So would the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote a very difficult letter to one of the churches he planted. The church in the city of Corinth started strong in grace, mercy, love and generosity. But sin and conflict broke out and in concern for his spiritual children, Paul was forced to write a letter to this group of struggling ‘Christ followers.’
It’s interesting that at the very beginning of this difficult letter, Paul expresses his appreciation for them. He didn’t appreciate them because they were people of character. He didn’t appreciate them for the way they held to God’s word. He didn’t appreciate them because of their high moral standards. Those things weren’t praiseworthy to First Church – Corinth.
Yet Paul appreciated them because of the grace they found in Jesus. There will always be people who annoy us. There will always be people who ridicule us or don’t meet our expectations. There will never be people who are outside of the reach of God’s grace. Appreciation of others doesn’t mean we agree with them, it simply means we value them because Jesus values them.
Who do you need to show value to today? Showing appreciation to others is a great way to show the grace Jesus offers everyone.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 