Thankful at 26

I turned over-a-quarter-of-a-century yesterday.  I feel over the hill in youngness now, like 25 was the peak and from now on I can't be referred to as "young" any more.  It's okay though, John Piper says that he doesn't understand people who want to look young because signs of age are supposed to be marks of dignity.  Not that I'm showing signs of old age, but need to remember that birthdays shouldn't be seen as a loss of another year of life, but one step closer to present and future sanctification.

Brittany made me this sweet cake this week. She actually meant to make it a drum set cake, but it didn't work out.  Then she had the audacity to think that I would be upset that it wasn't cool enough!  I assured her that I was perfectly happy with her creation. 

Although I think she was silly to worry about my like or dislike of the cake, I can understand why she would be unsure about my feelings toward it.

In truth, I am not a very emotionally expressive person. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have been outwardly expressive of the way I'm feeling. And most of those times would be when I was mad at Bindy for getting into the trash while we were gone.

Last Sunday night, Matt, a friend from church, preached a sermon on loving God.  He emphasized the need to have strong emotions towards God and people (Matthew 22:34-40).  While love isn't just having emotions, emotions are just as much evidence of love as actions.  For example, I can do loving things for my wife 24-7, but if I don't ever show her any loving emotion, my actions won't amount to anything. I think this is part of what Paul meant when he wrote "though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing."

What is one way that I can use emotion in a way that magnifies the Gospel?

One of the easiest ways to express emotion is to be thankful. God has given mankind absolutely everything that they have, see, and experience.  I can take this fact and use it as a means of emotional response to God.  I can thank Him for this tree, that car, this person, that dog, this trial, even my last breath; for anything at any point in time!

Also, like Paul I can also be thankful for people and how they impact my life. In this way you can convey your feelings towards someone while giving credit to the one who really deserves it.  There are many people in my life that I don't thank enough. Imagine the difference it would make if I regularly took the time to look those people in the eye and express my gratitude for the way God has used them.

By the way, thank you God for Brittany and her desire to show her love for me by making a cool cake!