In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. – Hebrews 1:1-2 (NIV)
In my formative spiritual years, I remember hearing this:
We worship God for who he is.
We praise God for what he has done.
For some, the distinction may not be entirely clear as when we substitute the word thank as in:
We worship God for who he is.
We thank God for what he has done.
I was taught this in what we might call, for lack of a better term, an ecclesiastical setting; in other words, the intent of the speaker(s) was to communicate the difference between simply saying “thanks” versus bowing our hearts in total adoration for who God is; his power, might, majesty and… wait for it… his merciful love.
I get that.
But I think it also needs to be said that, long before the foundations of the earth were laid, it was part of God’s plan all along to make a way of atonement.
God didn’t simply wake up one morning (!) and say, “This sacrificial system isn’t working, we need to try something else.”
The broad story arc of the Bible points to the coming of a Savior. He didn’t simply know that this is where the story was going to lead, rather he had planned out that the opportunity for humankind to experience forgiveness that was both full and free was the direction of the story — the plot line — from the beginning. Dispensationalists call this “the age of grace.” I would call it the “age of atonement.” We went from having to cover our sins to having our sins be covered.
And here is my point:
This whole plan is a reflection not only of what God did — though it is certainly that — but also indicative of who God is.
His actions and his act of mercy toward we who are sinners are indistinguishable from his nature.
He is a God of love.
He is a God of mercy.
He always has been.
The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Exodus 34:6-7a (NLT)
When we consider God’s nature, we often end up at the big O-words — omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent — and can forget he is loving and merciful and in his ways that are far above our ways has devised a plan none of us could ever imagine.
For that we offer thanks; we offer worship; we offer ourselves.
Here are some thoughts on thanks from Ruth’s worship set this morning:
Christianity 201 