Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 86.
Q. We have been delivered from our misery by God's grace alone through Christ and not because we have earned it: why then must we still do good?
A. To be sure, Christ has redeemed us by his blood. But we do good because Christ by his Spirit is also renewing us to be like himself, so that all our living we may show that we are thankful to God for all he has done for us, and so that he may be praised through us.
And we do good so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruits, and so that by our godly living our neighbors may be won over to Christ.
The very acts of compassion Jesus describes in Matthew 25 -- "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me": Aren't these the acts we most often see in the lives of generous, tenderhearted, joyful folks who live with an attitude of Gratitude? C.S. Lewis said something along these lines in his book on the Psalms. I'm looking for the quote right now....
Oh, here it is:
I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds praise most, while the cranks, misfits and malcontents praised least.... (C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms)
Lewis is using different words than we would, but I hear him saying basically this:
It seems obvious to me now: The people who overflow with deep gratitude are the folks who overflow with acts of compassion and who allow themselves to become one with the poor, the hungry, the oppressed, and the afflicted. Gratitude is at the heart of compassionate living. The people who don't give a hoot about others are the same jerks (poor souls) who never say thanks, the ones who say, "Why should I share? Everything I have I earned myself. I'll build bigger barns. I'll eat, drink, and be merry."
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