Some thoughts on Thanksgiving (part 5)

"1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."

(Psalm 100:1-5)

What a privilege it is to serve the Lord. There is a particular way in which God wants us to serve Him and that is ‘with gladness.’ This attitude stems from understanding who God is and what He is like. God has many attributes both incommunicable (these are ones only He possesses) like omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, etc. and communicable (these are ones which we can and should aspire to attain) holiness, love, meekness, etc. Considering the power of God and His graciousness, isn’t it reasonable to serve the Lord and to do it with gladness? So long as we keep our focus on the Lord, our service towards Him will always be with gladness. We gladly pray, we gladly give, we gladly sing, we gladly partake of the ordinances, we gladly proclaim the Gospel message, we gladly preach, we gladly assemble each weekend and mid-week for church (at least the church in Brogue, PA). We gladly visit the sick, and the shut-ins, the fatherless and the widows, we gladly serve in the prison ministry, we gladly serve the Lord in the public schools, and in the senior center, we gladly read the Bible everyday, we gladly memorize His Word, we gladly share our testimonies, and so on and so forth. Serving the Lord is the golden key of the Christian life, and serving the Lord with gladness is what God wants us to do. Gladness and thankfulness go hand in hand.