The video above tells you one way you respond to God’s saving work in your life that will please him.
Perhaps we need to be reminded of that from which we have been saved.
We have been saved from hell (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:9)—from the wrath of God, the judgment of God, and brought into life (John 3:16), and peace (Romans 5:1), and freedom (Galatians 5:1), forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7), acceptance (Romans 15:7). We have been adopted (Ephesians 1:5). We have been transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of the beloved Son (Colossians 1:13-14). We are now children of the King (Romans 8:17). We have an inheritance in heaven (1 Peter 1:4). And we are seated in the heavenly places with him (Ephesians 2:6).
And it seems that what God desires in response, among some other things, is a simple attitude of gratitude—just thankfulness! And it seems like what this does is it pleases God. Any sincere Christian wants to please God, right? I mean, with our lives we’re like, “Ah, I want to please you, Lord!” The attitude of gratitude pleases the Lord.
Look what Psalm 69:30-31 says, “I will praise the name of the Lord with song; and magnify him with thanksgiving. And it will please the Lord better than an ox, or a young bull, or horns, or hooves.” It’ll please the Lord more than sacrifice, more than religion, more than showing up, more than going through the motions. A simple, heartfelt thankfulness is pleasing to God.
And I don’t know about you, but in my own life there’s a sense of I want to please God, with my life, with the meditations of my heart I want to please God.
Now, we need to understand that, positionally speaking, God is pleased with us because of what Christ has done. We can speak of the Doctrine of Propitiation. To propitiate means to satisfy. Christ is a propitiation. The sacrifice that satisfied the wrath, standard, and judgment of God on our behalf. So when God looks at us through the lens of Christ, he’s satisfied with you. That should be so freeing to know that!
Because of Christ, it’s not as though he’s mad with you, or he’s just like, “Uh… I can’t believe that guy. He is killing me.” That’s not what he’s doing! If you’re in Christ, positionally speaking, he is satisfied because Christ was the sacrifice who satisfied the wrath, the judgment, the standard of God.
But part of the gig of Christian life is to bring the practical in line with the positional. Positionally, God is satisfied with us. Practically speaking, are we pleasing God in our lives?
This attitude of gratitude seems to be what pleases God so much. That’s what the psalmist said. That’s what Jesus displayed when he said, “Okay one came back, where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:17). He rejoiced in that fact that the one came back. It seems to please God when this thanksgiving overflows from our lives.