Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. (Rom. 9:4)
Expanded Passage: Romans 9:1-4
Johnson Oatman Jr. was born in New Jersey just before the Civil War. He joined his father’s mercantile business, and it became known as Johnson Oatman & Son. He also joined the Methodist Episcopal Church and was ordained into the ministry. However, he never became a full-time pastor, preferring to be bi-vocational. He enjoyed working in the world of business and it enabled him to minister without cost.
He began writing hymns and, according to some accounts, he averaged 200 hymns and gospel songs a year. He wrote perhaps 5,000 during his lifetime. One of his best-known songs is “Count Your Blessings.” The lyrics remind us, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one. And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”
When we don’t count our blessings, we run the risk of taking them for granted. That’s what happened to Israel. Although they enjoyed the blessings of a covenant with God, the law to guide them morally, the temple in which to worship, and the many promises of God, they did not remain faithful to him.
What blessings has God given you? Martin Luther said, “The greater God’s gifts and works, the less they are regarded.” Unless we are intentional about remembering our blessings, we may, like Israel, take them for granted. Before the day is over, count your blessings.
Think, and then thank God for your blessings.
Ron McClung is a retired minister in The Wesleyan Church. He lives in Michigan and has two sons, nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
