“Nevertheless He left not Himself without witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17).

All creatures receive blessings from God. He gives “rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons” and fills “our hearts with food and gladness.” How do and should we respond? It is sad when silence and non-appreciation are mixed only with expectations and even greedy demands for more.

The Apostle Paul wrote that, “when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful” (Romans 1:21). Instead of returning heartfelt thanks to the Lord, some attribute so-called good fortune to “luck,” karma, or some other mental idol. This is very sad indeed.

The Lord Jesus told the story of the non-appreciative son who demanded his inheritance and of the father who longed for that son’s return (Luke 15). Before His incarnation, He rebuked Jonah for having more concern for a plant than for many thousands of souls (Jonah 4:10,11).

The love of God the Father in giving us His cherished Son is the greatest expression of generosity ever imagined. It must have broken His heart, so to speak, to see His beloved Son hanging on that ugly cross for human ingrates such as we, but this was His great love for sinners.

How should we respond? With thankfulness, to be sure, but also with faith. We read that “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). This means burying our pride in Christ’s tomb and lifting our hearts in praise to Him with everything we have.

There is at least one other responsibility. We should also remind unbelievers that blessings come their way from the hands of a loving and caring God—not from the nonentity we call luck. PGH