If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

Most Christians—and a lot of not-Christians, for that matter—are faithful about thanking God for what He does, but how often do we thank Him for who He is? Do we overlook this in our relationships with Him?

My wife appreciates it when I thank her for doing something, but if I really want to make her feel good, I thank her for being the person she is. It’s a much deeper concept and conveys a more powerful message.

I thank my daughter for doing this or that or not doing something else, but my most basic thought about her is that I’m thankful for who she is. If you stop and think about it, isn’t it more important for your child to be the wonderful and morally upright person he or she is than for him or her to buy you a present or invite you to dinner?

We thank God for our health. We thank Him for our relative prosperity. We may thank Him for a new car or a new house. We thank Him for lots of things, but so what? Does that show any great character or reverence on our part? We’d be ingrates if we weren’t thankful for all these things.

But if we truly want to show appreciation to God, we should thank Him for being the God He is. The unbending justice of His nature. The grace which allows Him to substitute Jesus’s righteousness for our sinfulness. The unchanging nature of His character.

Do we thank God for these traits which make Him the God He is, or do we just thank Him for being our sugar daddy and giving us stuff?

Have a New Testament passage or concept you’d like to see discussed here? Maybe something you’ve never quite understood. I’d love to hear from you about that, too. I’ll try my best to explain it.

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at davwalktx@yahoo.com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx