Let us bless the Lord because He has blessed us!

John 1:1-18

Before anything else existed, there was Christ,* with God. He has always been alive and is himself God. He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make. Eternal life is in him, and this life gives light to all mankind. His life is the light that shines through the darkness—and the darkness can never extinguish it. God sent John the Baptist as a witness to the fact that Jesus Christ is the true Light. John himself was not the Light; he was only a witness to identify it. Later on, the one who is the true Light arrived to shine on everyone coming into the world. But although he made the world, the world didn’t recognize him when he came.Even in his own land and among his own people, the Jews, he was not accepted. Only a few would welcome and receive him. But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them. All those who believe this are reborn!—not a physical rebirth resulting from human passion or plan—but from the will of God. And Christ became a human being and lived here on earth among us and was full of loving forgiveness* and truth. And some of us have seen his glory*—the glory of the only Son of the heavenly Father!* John pointed him out to the people, telling the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming who is greater by far than I am—for he existed long before I did!’” We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to us—blessing upon blessing heaped upon us! For Moses gave us only the Law with its rigid demands and merciless justice, while Jesus Christ brought us loving forgiveness as well. No one has ever actually seen God, but, of course, his only Son has, for he is the companion of the Father and has told us all about him.

Food for thought!

Congratulations! You made it to the end of 2014. If you’re like me, you feel a small sense of accomplishment when you come to December 31. Today's gospel reading says: “We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to us—blessing upon blessing heaped upon us!” If you are reading this, it is because you are alive; it is because you and I have arrived alive to the end of 2014.

Let me remind you that life is a blessing. Take time to praise God in your quiet time for all of His blessings. Join the psalmist in saying:

If the Lord had not been on our side (let all Israel admit it), if the Lord had not been on our side, we would have been swallowed alive by our enemies, destroyed by their anger. We would have drowned beneath the flood of these men’s fury and pride. Blessed be Jehovah who has not let them devour us. We have escaped with our lives as a bird from a hunter’s snare. The snare is broken and we are free! Our help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124)

Let us stop and thank God for the good things He has given us in 2014. Sometimes we are so anxious to get new blessings from God that we aren’t acknowledging the old blessings from the Lord. Can you name some of the blessing of 2014? May be your kids got good grades at school, your spouse helped out around the house, your health was great this year, and many others. In any way, make a “gratitude list.” Write down all the things in your life that you are grateful for from 2014.

But as the psalmist says, when God blesses us, He expects us to bless him: “I will bless you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.” (Psalm 63:4). In other words, let us bless the Lord because He has blessed us! Remember this: Whatever you give your attention and belief to becomes your experience. So, focus your attention on the way you would like to see yourself in 2015. Give thanks for the realization that you are right now becoming that person. Give thanks for all of the abundance you’re presently enjoying, and give thanks for the abundance of every good thing that’s on its way to you. As you count your blessings and become increasingly aware of how truly blessed you are, you will begin to build an attitude of gratitude. This is what will usher us into 2015.

When we feel gratitude for our blessings, it becomes easier to see that the Lord has been always with us in ALL we have gone through in 2014. This is what today's gospel readings reminds us: He was there since the beginning; everything was done through him; there was nothing that was done without him. Jesus was always there, whether we recognized him or not. He was in our world, our home, our place of work, our joys, even our suffering, our ups and downs. To him be praise and honour and glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.