Rev 4, 5
We have made enough trips through the Bible in this Bible Journal journey to know how often the scriptures tell us to praise God. From Moses, the prophets and judges, David in the Psalms to many of the New Testament writers we are commanded over and over to praise God and worship Him. While the main purpose of the Bible is to tell the story of God’s love for His creation and His sacrifice to pay for the consequences of human sin so that people can have a relationship with God, it also let’s us know that the proper response to God for this gift is for us to praise Him. What else can we offer in thanks for this ultimate gift? We get overwhelmed with expensive gifts from other people and get frustrated with the inability to “repay” or give a worthy response gift to express our gratefulness for another’s thoughtfulness. Now compare that earthly frustration with the Creator of the universe, the King of kings offering His life to pay for mine. What kind of “thank you” seems appropriate for this? The truth is we cannot come close to the value of His life if we could give everything we have. We can’t come close.
Have you ever had the experience of gifting a child or a close friend a lavish gift? What do you hope for after they accept the gift? In your heart are you hoping to be repaid for the value of the gift? No, it would be ridiculous to expect payment from a kid. I think for most of us the most fulfilling response or “repayment” comes in seeing the other person enjoy the gift. You gift, hoping that your gift enriches the other person’s life. You hope the gift brings them joy. You might even hope that the gift helps them to see the value that they hold in your eyes. You gift because you want them to understand how much they mean to you. Is God any different? When I ponder the reasons God gave us new life, my heart is filled with gratitude. I can’t find enough words to thank Him for what He has done so I move to praising Him for who He is. I need Him to know that I recognize His love, His sacrifice and His gift. I need Him to hear from my mouth that He is the only One who could have taken my place. It’s important to me that He knows that I realize it is only because of Him that I have hope and the promise of eternity with Him.
When I’m searching for the words to express my gratitude to God, looking at the words that the angles and heaven use to praise God seems like the right place to start.
“Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, the one who was, who is and is still to come. You are worthy, to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased. Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the thrown and to the Lamb forever and ever!”