Saturday, November 28, 2015
Isaiah 49:5-6 And now the LORD says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, And My God shall be My strength), Indeed He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth."
GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD ... FOR THE "TOO SMALL A THING."
This year, as you gather together at table and give thanks for good food, family and friends, let me urge you above all to give thanks for the "too small a thing."
"Ahem. Excuse me pastor, but I believe the expression is, 'Be thankful for the little things.' Be Thankful for the 'too small a thing' isn't really a cliché or accepted saying, neither is it good English. Why, you'd think that someone who writes frequently would know that!"
This is the "too small a thing" for which we should be thankful today and every day. God's mercy was too big to send a Savior only for a select few. God's plan all along was to send His Servant to suffer and to die for all the nations. He came to the Jews as foretold, but He did not come only for them. God gave Him also to be a light to the Gentiles, to the nations, and to stand as God's Salvation to the ends of the earth.
Praise God that He didn't play favorites! He sent Jesus to be the Light of the world. He bears the only Name given under heaven by which we must be saved. He sent the Savior also for the Gentiles all along, not merely because many of the Jews rejected their own promised Savior. God's promises included us long ago.
We have many things for which to be thankful. We have been given many blessings. This year let's look beyond the earthly blessings to the one gift God gave that has eternal effects. Let's praise God and give Him thanks that He didn't think small when it came to saving sinners. He thought it too small a thing to send His Servant to save only the few sinners he was related to by blood. He sent Christ for all of us.
Thank God that He considered it "too small a thing" to save only the Jews and included us!
