1 Timothy 4:4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:… If it be received with thanksgiving. We are always to be conscious of dependence, or else our very blessings turn to curses. We become full, and we deny God. There is a prosperity without God which makes men proud and hard. Men lose the consciousness of the transitoriness of earthly good, and of their entire dependence upon God. We are, therefore, to live in an atmosphere of gratitude. We are not to receive mercies as though we had a right to them, but always, as Paul says, "Be ye thankful." I. THINK OF THE THOUGHT MANIFESTED IN THESE GIFTS, Every student of nature becomes surprised that beauty is born out of such strange elements, and that there should be such harmony of forces that, taken alone, would be terribly destructive. God's thoughts are, toward us, precious thoughts, spoken in all ages by holy men, and symbolized in the world of nature. God has thought out all that is needful for our life. He has stored the earth, interlaced it with rich metallic veins, filled it with limestone and coal, that all might be ready for his child. And in grace we see how God promised a Savior, and, when his Son came into the world, "all things are now ready." II. THINK OF THE FORBEARANCE THAT CONTINUES THEM. Men have abused God's mercies. If men destroy the nobleman's shrubs, he closes his grounds. If men deface the pictures, the galleries are no longer free. And yet God bears with all the sin and frailty of man; and from generation to generation this is the thought that should move man most - not only the forgiveness, but the forbearance, of God. III. THINK OF THE PLEASURES RECEIVED FROM THEM. What millionfold ministrations of pleasure there are! What has not nature been to you, and love, and thought, and home! There is no more wonderful contemplation than the varied pleasures of heart and mind. IV. THINK OF THE UNCREATIVE POWER OF MAN. We cannot create an atom; we can only readjust and combine. And the artist cannot create his colors; he can only mix them. The physician cannot create his remedies; he can only find them. The builder cannot create his stones, he can only quarry them. The child can gather the flower; but a whole universe of men cannot give it life again. Let every creation of God be received with thanksgiving.. - W.M.S. Parallel Verses KJV: For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: |
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