A Thankful Heart

 Do justly…love mercy…and walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).  My father had uttered these words hundreds of times.  So, when my siblings and I wanted to send something special to him a couple of Sundays ago, we agreed Micah 6:8 would be appropriate. 

The sales associate at the store and I finalized the choice of plaques and the message to be engraved.  Then I walked around the Mall, giving her time to complete the engraving on the beautiful flame which rested on a wooden base.

I could hardly wait the week leading to the Sunday that he would be given our gift.  Sunday night, I phoned Mom and got the highlights of their Sunday.  I listened rather impatiently to her chatter on about the day. (I just wanted to hear what he thought about “our” gift.) 

Finally, I said, “well, what did he say about the plaque?”  “Oh, yeah,” she responded.  “He really didn’t understand how the verse connected with anything.  Let me read it to you.” 

A little annoyed with the lack of appreciation that I was hearing through the phone, I said, “well, we each remembered Dad saying those words to us all of the time when it came to how we should live.” 

I heard the rustling of paper, and then I heard Micah 6:11.  What??!!!? I thumbed through my Bible, wondering what in the world was Micah 6:11.  They had engraved the wrong Scripture reference, and I hadn’t even noticed.  I was so enthralled by the beauty of the plaque and how proud Dad would be to receive this gift from the “fruit of his loins.”  (Okay maybe “from” is the wrong word.  I can be a bit dramatic at times.)  Somehow I had overlooked the scriptural reference when I reviewed the plaque following the engraving.   

Thankfully, they were able to take it to a local store and have another engraved free of charge!  The store kept the old one and gave the new one, error free, to my parents. It was as if the mistake had never happened. 

Psalm 103:12 reminds us of what God does with the sins of those in Christ:  “as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”  You see, the east and west can never meet in one point.  It is forever at the same distance from each other.  Our sins and their punishment are likewise removed to an eternal distance because of God’s mercy. (Italics loosely paraphrased basded upon Adam Clarke’s Online Bible Commentary.)

Moreover, it was free for us.  Christ paid it all when He died on the cross!  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).  For those covered by Christ, it’s as though it (the wrong/sin) never happened. 

Dear sisters, this is not a license to sin.  Rather, among others, it is a lesson in thanksgiving.  What better reason to have a thankful heart this season (any season) than for such love bestowed upon us by God? (See 1 John 3:1.) Let’s be so enthralled with His beauty that even the wrongs of others pale in comparison, for “love will cover a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

“Father, thank you for first loving us.  May we study and meditate on your word, filling our hearts with your truth.  Then as we go, let others experience your love through our actions and words.”