Matthew 19:24 — And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Well, yes, I am so grateful. Unexpectedly shaken by gratitude in my quiet time today. “Well, of course”, you say, “it’s Christmas Day. How could you not be grateful?” Let me try and explain myself.
It’s not just the gifts. Although as usual my sweet Myra and I have had great joy in exchanging gifts — mostly practical, but some downright frivolous!
It’s not just the daily blessings of life, either. Though we have a nice house, clean water, food on our table … Things that most of the world are denied.
Nor is the focus of my gratitude today the fact that we live in a more-or-less free country, where freedom of religion is largely unconstrained, though that too is a rare privilege.
Not even my wife, the wonder of my life, is the center of my thankfulness today. Though God knows how great a gift she is to me, and how she has unlocked my heart, still that is not it.
Underlying all my gratitude of course, today, and always, is my gratitude for the gift of salvation. I’m not sure I could ever express that gratitude. I do know that through the year I see that gift in different ways … The jewel sparkles fresh and new, like a diamond and deepens, ruby red, at Easter. That platform of gratitude, though, might be the base of what struck me this morning.
I am grateful for gratitude! I am grateful that I can be grateful, in a society where so many seem focused on what they do not have — on “rights” they are denied, or things that others have, and they cannot aspire to. Too many of us are like the odious Dudley Dursley of the “Harry Potter” books, more interested in the number of gifts than the quality or the love that went into the package.
I’ve been reading “Soul Survivor” by Philip Yancey. In a section discussing his relationship with Dr. Robert Coles the American author, child psychiatrist, and professor he says:

I belong, with Robert Coles, to a privileged minority. Everyone reading this sentence belongs, in fact, for only a small percentage of the world’s people has the ability and leisure to read and the resources to buy a book. How do we, the “privileged ones,” act as stewards of the grace we have received?

Most of the time, of course, I forget that basic truth that Yancey reminds me of. But just sometimes I remember, and my gratitude for simple things is suddenly magnified. And today I realized how hard that is for so many people.
From a materialist point of view, the more you have, the less each new gift means. The child with a room full of playthings is not much impressed by one more toy. It’s easier for the poor man to have the gift of gratitude than it is for the rich man. I think that’s a part of the meaning of Jesus’s cryptic comment about rich men and camels.
So today, I’m grateful because — somehow — I am seeing the many gifts and privileges with brighter eyes today, with an extra “Yes!” of joy in my heart. I can’t exactly pin my finger on the “why”, and tomorrow it may be another story but today I am grateful that I can be grateful!