“For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:15). Redound is a word that comes from Latin and essentially means the returning wave. If God is radiating out a wave of pure love and goodness and abundant grace, it would make sense that this wave would pulse outward and then eventually travel back to its source. For this wave of abundant grace to travel back towards God, it needs some help. It is only through gratitude that the abundant grace can redound to the glory of God. Specifically, the thanksgiving of many. Grace and gratitude are so inextricably linked together that in some languages the word for thanks and the word for grace are one and the same. We are inherently grateful creatures. We were designed with the natural frequency to resonate with thanksgiving when a wave of grace hits us. Receiving grace with a grateful heart causes the wave to redound to the glory of God. And obviously, when the thanksgiving of the many pulses back to our Heavenly Father, this only causes Him to send out a new, more powerful wave, which in turn prompts us to be even more grateful and send the wave rippling back once more. I hope we all come to see ourselves as a vital part of this continuum of grace and gratitude oscillating back and forth.
