Hikers know how it works. The trail is long, so you pace yourself and secure all the necessary provisions. The map shows the route and the destination. There is safety in numbers. You find your bearings with a compass. There will be some special scenery and stops along the way. The first Jesus-followers were not called “Christians” for a number of years. At first, they were called people of “The Way.” That evokes the notion of a path—a hike—if you will. As followers of Jesus, we are progressing along a path that will lead to our final destination—living and loving like Jesus. One key and critical quality of Jesus-followers is a sense of thankfulness. We think we know about gratitude because we have a national holiday for it—Thanksgiving. But what does the Bible have to say about the authentic quality of gratitude that should be manifest in faithful followers of Jesus? The path to gratitude is the path to knowing God, proclaiming God, and seeing God. It’s a path to Jesus.
