Focus: The Essence of Life (Pt.3)

Text: Jb.10:12; 33:4

"Thou hast GRANTED me LIFE and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit… The Spirit of God hath MADE me, and the BREATH of the Almighty hath GIVEN me LIFE."

We have looked at the L-letter, which is Loan for investment, and the I-letter, which is Infusion for expression on earth. Now let's focus on the F-letter.

*Favor for gratitude

Peter tells us that husband and wife are "heirs together of the GRACE of LIFE" (1Pet.3:7).

Life as favor from God is a call to a life of daily gratitude. We exist solely by God's favor. No one lives on the grounds of merit, but on the basis of grace.

God made man not out of necessity, but out of the good pleasure of His will. He created us not because He had need of us, but because He wanted us. God was not suffering from the sickness of aloneness and loneliness, and then thought of creating us to meet that need or fill the void. God was not starving of love, and then thought of bringing us into existence just to tend to His need. God is not in any ways selfish. No, not at all!

At the start of creation, God says, "Let US make man in OUR image…" Obviously, there was the divine "US" before God made man. We call it in theology the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, which is the belief that God is three persons in one, known also as God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So God is more than a person; God exists as three persons in one. From eternity God has never lived alone. He did not make man to fill a void in His life. The twenty-four elders, in the spirit and mood of worship, were saying, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: FOR thou hast created all things, and FOR THY PLEASURE they are and were created" (Rev.4:11). God delights in making us. The first 'for' in the verse just quoted is 'hoti' in Greek. The second one is 'dia.' 'Hoti' gives us the reason for the praise. It means our creation is the reason for the worship. God is worthy of praise for having created us. 'Dia' is a prefix that basically means 'through.' It is by or through His pleasure that we exist. God was pleased to make us.

Life is a grant from God. Life is the gift of grace. Life is not something anyone can buy from the market. Life is priceless - not buyable. God's breath or oxygen is not for sale. It is freely given to us by God. No one is deserving of life. Life is not earn-able. It is the gift of favor.

We exist by divine favor, and that calls for gratitude. We survive tough times by grace and succeed in our endeavor by the God factor. What is there to boast of in this life? What do you have that is worth boasting about? Life is not yours. Wealth is left behind the moment death comes.

We live in a world owned by God. We breathe the air provided by God. We achieve nothing by our own power. God gives us the ability to make wealth and enjoy it. God has given us everything we own and enjoy in this world.

We exist purely by His love and for His glory. Let us join the twenty-four elders to sing and worship our creator.

Arrogance has roots in ignorance. Anywhere you see arrogance, look more closely, you will see ignorance right behind it. It is illogical to be ungrateful for anything. No reason is good enough to be ungrateful.

The words 'think' and 'thank' stem from the same root, and that means that the thoughtful are thankful. If you can't thank God for anything and everything, then you are not thinking. We are most silly to be thankless. 

Let's be thankful to God for the free gift of life. God has blessed us with the sacred capital of life. All other blessings flow from it. Our lives should be a celebration of grace. Thrash your pride and acknowledge life as the treasure of divine favor. Bow in worship before the throne of grace and be thankful to God who gives us daily grace for daily need and loads us with daily benefits. Graceful life means grateful life. Amen.

We'll conclude tomorrow.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter