So I’m working through “gratitude” and I’ve come to thinking about how thankfulness relates to grace. I’m also considering that even our thankfulness falls short of what God is worthy of? Of course this is not to say we should abandon gratitude.  Our best service, thankfulness, belongs to God. And God owes us no special  honor because of our gratitude. The humble know they are still living entirely by grace and will one day be seated at the Master’s table only because of His kindness, not our performance.

But consider this verse!

9 He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?   10 So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'” Luke 17:9-10.

Are we commanded to be thankful? Yes, of course! 

The New Testament Commands:

– “1 Thessalonians 5:16–18”
  “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

– “Colossians 3:15–17
  “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. … And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Foundational Old Testament Calls to Give Thanks:

– “Psalm 100:4–5”
  “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

– “Psalm 9:1”
  “I  give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”

There are many more verses which support the duty of gratitude for all that God has done. So, returing to my initial statement, “Obedience is never meritorious in the sense that it obligates God,” gratitude should not be perforative. I think it can  come only from a heart overwhelmed by grace. Today, I don’t think many of us expect rewards for our gratitude, even so God is never our debtor. 
But know this, any reward attached to gratitude is from His voluntary goodness. And while gratitude is a commanded duty,  it remains the response of an “unworthy servant,” never a meritorious work that places God in our debt.

You probably never considered that gratitude is both required and non-meritorious? I had not! But when I combined the passage in Luke with passages on gratitude I felt like I had to work it out in my own head.

The full passage in Luke helped greatly. The nine lepers did their minimal duty (they went to the priests as commanded) and received physical healing; they remained thankless and, as far as the text indicates, unsaved. The one who returned fulfilled the further duty of gratitude and received far more – salvation- yet still stood as an unworthy servant who had only done what he ought.

Gratitude is all about grace, isn’t it!