Thanks for ALL the people

Posted by patricklawrence on Nov 19, 2009 in Daily Bread | 2 comments

When it comes to my faith, prayer has been where I fall short. I pray… but it’s usually selfish and demanding. I pray when I am in need of “saving”. I really have a long way to grow when it comes to prayer.

That’s why I love praying with my 4 year-old son Caleb. When we pray, it’s almost always about thanks. Sometimes we’re thankful for the lamp or the ceiling… whatever he’s looking at right then. Sometimes we’re thankful for family members and friends. But sometimes he amazes me with his thanks. Last night he thanked God for “ALL the people”.

I love my son with a father’s love. While he might not understand the power of his words last night, it stirred something in me. Caleb didn’t play favorites with his prayer. He didn’t just thank God for the people who loved him. He didn’t limit his praise based on the day’s events (as I often have). He simply thanked God for ALL people. It got me thinking:

Why am I not more thankful of ALL of God’s people?

Why am I not more thankful of ALL of Abba’s love?

Why am I not more thankful of ALL of God’s goodness?

And most importantly, why am I not more thankful of God’s greatest gift, his son’s death on the cross to cover my sins?

Our prayers are so often focused on the temporary, but God’s love is not a temporary love. It isn’t a love that’s just meant for when we’ve had a bad day, or when things aren’t going our way. And it isn’t a love that plays favorites. It’s a love that is there every moment, for ALL God’s people.

There’s a section in 1 Corinthians that I’ve often skimmed over:

“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.”

God’s love is perfection, it is enduring, it is eternal… and it never fails. Give thanks.