Here is an invitation to marvel. Thanking God also means being careful with His gifts and treating them with due respect—health, family, nature, and eternal life.
“How can we thank God?” Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider asked in his Thanksgiving Day service on 5 October 2025 in Libreville, Gabon. He put a special focus on the creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19: 1).
The mystery of creation
“We believe in God, the Almighty, the Creator of all things,” the Chief Apostle emphasised, referring to the First Article of the New Apostolic Creed. It is good, he said, that we take time once a year to celebrate the Creator and reflect on the goodness, beauty, and complexity of the creation.
“Since time immemorial, human beings have tried to understand and explain it.” Science has made great strides in this field, and new discoveries are still being made all the time. “You never stop being amazed.” That strengthens our faith, the Chief Apostle said, adding, “God the Creator is always greater than anything we can imagine.”
It is important that we accept that we cannot understand everything God does. “But we believe that He is perfect. We believe that God loves us. And that is why we trust in Him. We believe in Him.”
God’s commandments give us direction
The creation may be good, but there is much unhappiness on earth, the Chief Apostle said. This can be traced back to the fall of Adam and Eve. Their disobedience had consequences for all of humankind and the whole of creation. “Because human beings did not obey God’s commandment,” the Chief Apostle explained.
- They put their own interests above those of others.
- They put the present before the future.
- They placed more importance on material things than spiritual things.
- They put their own interests before Christian values.
Jean-Luc Schneider therefore appealed to all New Apostolic Christians:
- Let us obey God’s law and not add to evil.
- We are aware of the consequences for the world, the earth, and our fellow human beings when we do not keep God’s law.
- Let us keep this law for God and our neighbour so that we can look up to God.
- And let us do good so as not to add to evil.
However, this is still not enough to solve all the problems. This requires a Saviour, the Chief Apostle said: “We are grateful to God for giving us this Saviour in Jesus Christ. So we must be good, which is the equivalent of serving Jesus.”
The faithful and merciful God
God is faithful and cares for human beings. “The Creator continues to send rain, and makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good.” He does not punish us if we make a mistake. “God gives us much more than we deserve.”
With our offerings we express our gratitude. In doing so, let us not behave like a merchant and expect to receive something in return. God cannot be bought. “What God gives us, He gives us by grace.”
We can also show our gratitude to God by looking after the things He has given us: our health, our family, the planet. “Let us treat His gifts with respect.” Just as God is faithful, “let us too be faithful and do good, even when things are going badly for us”.
Our future perspective: the new creation
Now God is working on creating a new creation with new people, a new earth, and a new heaven. There, perfect fellowship with God will be possible again. Jesus Christ is the first perfect human being who entered the kingdom of God.
“Now God is continuing His work,” the Chief Apostle explained. “He made us His children. He leads us through baptism with water and the Spirit. His word, Holy Communion, and forgiveness of sins help us to become like Jesus.
We must work on ourselves and be determined to change. Because Jesus’ most fervent wish is that His followers be one. “Let us work to strengthen the unity of God’s children,” the Chief Apostle appealed. “The Lord has made us into a new creation in order to welcome us into His new creation.”
