This is indeed something to be thankful for, and we should appreciate the individuals who courageously ran for office. Prior to this, some of these candidates may have had low visibility and slimmer chances of winning, but still they willingly invested their time and resources, sacrificing personal privacy to participate in the election. When asked about their motivation for running, not only did they express their desire to give citizens a chance to vote, they also wanted to give back to the country for the various privileges it had provided them, hoping to contribute more once elected. This spirit of gratitude and reciprocation is worth emulating.
As Christians, are we people who reciprocate kindness? We have experienced God’s love, protection, comfort, guidance, salvation, and more. Do we take these blessings for granted? Do we deserve them? If we honestly examined ourselves, we will realize that all these benefits are grace, and that we in fact do not deserve any of them. We are weak and self-centred, and often covet the things of the world. Even after believing in the Lord, we frequently sin against God, fail to love others according to the teachings of the Bible, and remain unconcerned about God’s work. We are truly undeserving sinners. However, this also highlights the magnitude of God’s grace and His unconditional love. Therefore, reciprocating God’s kindness is something we, as recipients of His grace, should naturally do. In Psalm 116, the psalmist, after being saved by God, expresses gratitude, saying, “What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people” (Ps 116:12-14).
I believe we all understand the principle of reciprocating kindness, but we often forget and easily take God’s grace for granted or consider it our own achievement. Forgetting God’s grace or thinking of it as our own achievement is a grave sin. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were often punished by God for such sins. The sin of ingratitude does not stop at ingratitude; it leads you away from God to rely on things other than Him. “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God … You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me’” (De 8:11-20).
Cultivating a heart of gratitude toward God and turning that gratitude into some form of action to repay His kindness is crucial. When the pandemic struck, it disrupted many people’s plans and posed significant challenges to their lives and survival. Many Christians, and even non-Christians, became more willing to seek God during this time. Humbling ourselves before God, recognizing and remembering our limitations, allows us to acknowledge that God is indeed God and learn to look to Him. This is a key element of practicing gratitude. We shouldn’t only thank God after He has delivered us from a crisis, but such experiences help us, who are prone to forget, to remember that God is God. Moreover, in everyday life, we should learn to thank God for both big and small things, “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:20). But expressing gratitude does not just mean thanking God specifically in prayer, although that is essential. It also involves having a heart ready to testify to God’s grace before others, reading God’s word in order to obey His will, and regularly thinking about God’s matters. If you often think about God’s matters, you will be more inclined to see the needs in God’s house and how you can serve God’s children.
From a different perspective, Jesus said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked”(Lu12:48). The more grace we receive from the Lord, the higher His expectations are for us. To willingly give and share more is in fact also what the Lord requires of us. However, such requirements are actually designed to give us more in return. “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (Joh15:2).
Therefore, think about what can help you deeply remember God’s grace and maintain a humble heart of gratitude towards Him? Further, how should you reciprocate this gratitude?
translated by Rachel Goh