The Lord God, Yahweh Elohim, created the heavens and the earth by the power of His Word. He is perfect, just, and holy. Therefore, He is unable to be in the presence of sin. Mankind, on the other hand, is fallible, fickle, and sinful. And so there was a sin-debt that separated man and God that needed to be paid to restore right relationship. There was a grave and great chasm that separated man and God and disallowed any lasting relationship between humanity and God. Yet God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, sent His Son, Jesus, to pay the sin-debt for all mankind. Therefore, man was able to enter into a right relationship with the Lord because of God's grace given through the work of Christ.
The heart of thankfulness. Additionally, being full of thanks is not just an attitude or a divine character trait, rather, it is a command. We are to be thankful (Col. 2:6-7). We are to be overflowing with thankfulness (Eph. 5:20; 1 Thes. 5:18). Also, thankfulness is to be the manner of conduct for our entering into the divine gates (Psa. 100:4).
Moreover, our thankfulness is in reaction to the goodness of God (Heb. 12:28). The two, God's goodness and our thankfulness, are proportionally related. As God, in His very essence is only good, then we should, in the very depths of our beings, be filled with thankfulness. It is not a matter of working towards thankfulness. Instead, when we are focused on the Lord, we will be thankful.
Lastly, thankfulness should never be the aim of Christian life. God is our aim. Thankfulness is our natural reaction to God. We should strive to be focused on the Lord, who He is, what He has done, and what He continues to do then our thankfulness will be pure, holy, and natural. Thankfulness is to be synonymous with praise. It should not ever be severed from its source which is Christ. So, when we are thankful, we should be thankful to Him. Thanks be to God for He is great and worthy of all praise and thankfulness!
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