Ask a group of people to name a taste of heaven and likely answers will include a favorite meal, a beloved quiet spot, or a happy get-together with family and friends.
But British minister William Romaine (1714-1795) suggested a different way to experience a taste of heaven that doesn’t involve cooking, traveling, or gathering. His recommendation: gratitude to God.
Gratitude to God
makes even a temporal blessing
a taste of heaven.
–William Romaine
Such tastes of heaven are not few and far between either. During every one of the 1,440 minutes of each day, blessings descend, including such privileges as:
- Just getting out of bed in the morning and being able to move about
- enjoying the privilege of communicating with others–including with God himself
- receiving adequate strength to fulfill the day’s responsibilities
- taking in helpful information and experiencing delight through our five senses
- encouraging others with kindness and increasing our own joy in the process
Though none of these are rare blessings, they still hold great value.
If you remember the dignity of the Giver,
no gift will seem small or mean,
for nothing can be valueless that is
given by the most high God.
–Thomas á Kempis
Not only do the gifts themselves hold value, they demonstrate the depth and value of God’s gracious love toward us—when we’re grateful for them.
To be grateful is to recognize
the love of God in everything He has given us—
and He has given us everything.
Every breath we draw is a gift of His love,
every moment of existence is a grace,
for it brings with it immense graces from Him.
–Thomas Merton
Therefore, we’d do well to follow the advice of nineteenth-century Scottish minister and author J. R. MacDuff:
Little did Reverend MacDuff know what secular researchers would discover about gratitude a century beyond his lifetime. The benefits include more than a sense of well-being. Grateful people enjoy:
- Better sleep
- A stronger immune system
- Improved mental health
- Increased optimism
- Better relationships*
In addition, a few discerning Christ-followers have noted:
1. Gratitude soothes over the irritations of life as attention is directed away from trouble and toward the blessings that remain.
We would worry less if we praised more.
Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.
–Harry Ironside (1876-1951),
pastor, author, theologian
In other words, a grateful heart is a contented and satisfied heart. Doesn’t that sound like a taste of heaven?
2. “Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter every day epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world” (John Milton).
Every day epiphanies? Transcendent moments of awe? These too sound like glorious tastes of heaven.
3. “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life” (Melody Beattie) . . . as we begin to see the wealth we already own, the blessings we already enjoy, the prayers God has already answered.
The unthankful heart discovers no mercies;
but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and,
as the magnet finds iron, so it will find in every hour,
some heavenly blessings!”
–Henry Ward Beecher
In this week leading up to Thanksgiving 2021, what tastes of heaven are you enjoying? Please share a sample with us in the comment section below!
* https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-gratitude-practice#takeaway
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From the Inside Out 