Enriching Lives through Online Training

You might "remember" that last week I mentioned three aspects of prayer: (1) Pray with real intent, (2) The "power" of gratitude, (3) Prayer is a TWO-way communication … but only gave my personal comments on two of the three … I "left out" gratitude. The reason is that I wanted to "expound" a bit more on this one principle in this week’s "message."

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of Love. Indeed, the first two commandments tell us to love … love God and love our fellow man. Even faith cometh about as the result of the love we have/feel for others ("For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." - Galatians 5:6). Therefore, love is a "foundation" of the Gospel. One might then ask … "From whence cometh love?" We can only give what we have first received. ("We love him, because he first loved us." - 1 John 4:19). So it would seem that, because of the love Heavenly Father has shown towards us … in our gratitude, we, in turn, express it back not only towards Him, but if we really do love Him, then towards others! ("If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." - 1 John 4:20-21)

So … we love others because we have ALREADY experienced/felt His love for us … and out of our deepest gratitude towards Him, we are "moved" to love others. Therefore, it would appear that GRATITUDE could be considered the "foundation" of love. The "problem" is that we "forget" the blessings He has given us. Perhaps that is why so often, in the scriptures, the people were reminded to remember what God has done for them ("Count Your Blessings")! --

"And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place …" (Exodus 13:3)

"And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer." (Psalms 78:35)

"And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell? Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God, Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word …" (Alma 5:6-7)

Let us remember what Heavenly Father has done for us … and, in our gratitude, love all our brothers and sisters and, with his help/guidance, reach out to and share these same blessings with them (see "Share the Gospel with Love" -- www.PSLinstitute.com/sharegospel.html). In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.