Cheerfulness and Thankfulness
109
brightness and thanksgiving.... Let us do our best, moving forward
cheerfully in the service of the Lord, with our hearts filled with His
joy
Teach Children to Be Grateful—“Thou shalt rejoice in every
good thing which the Lord thy God hath given thee.” Thanksgiving
and praise should be expressed to God for temporal blessings and
for whatever comforts He bestows upon us. God would have every
family that He is preparing to inhabit the eternal mansions above give
glory to Him for the rich treasures of His grace. Were children, in
the home life, educated and trained to be grateful to the Giver of all
good things, we would see an element of heavenly grace manifest
in our families. Cheerfulness would be seen in the home life, and
coming from such homes, the youth would bring a spirit of respect
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and reverence with them into the schoolroom and into the church.
There would be an attendance in the sanctuary where God meets with
His people, a reverence for all the ordinances of His worship, and
grateful praise and thanksgiving would be offered for all the gifts of
His providence.
If the word of the Lord were now as strictly carried out as it was
when enjoined upon ancient Israel, fathers and mothers would give
to their children an example which would be of the highest value....
Every temporal blessing would be received with gratitude, and every
spiritual blessing become doubly precious because the perception of
each member of the household had become sanctified by the Word of
truth. The Lord Jesus is very near to those who thus appreciate His
gracious gifts, tracing all their good things back to the benevolent,
loving, care-taking God, and recognizing Him as the great Fountain of
all comfort and consolation, the inexhaustible Source of grace
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9
Australasian Union Conference Record, November 15, 1903
.
10
Manuscript 67, 1907
.