We'll gather on Sunday to worship together after being apart for Thanksgiving with our family and friends, all in different contexts. Some of us will be with Christian family, others with unbelieving family; some of us will struggle with contentment; some of us will be missing recently departed loved ones. But we have the blessing of a time in the calendar year of our culture, to make sure we stay thankful. And as the church, have the chance to refocus our thankfulness on God, who "gives to all mankind life and breath and everything" (Acts 17:25).
Look at that Acts verse - God gives us everything. And everything means everything. Our lives, with all of their imperfections and blessings, are from God and we should be thankful. He designs things exactly the way He deems necessary for us; and the church should take special comfort in this, because God means to make us more like Christ and give us ultimate good through all of our trials as well as blessings. For the Christian, even trials are gifts, that God employs in His own service, which is to give us more of Himself.
It's important that Romans 1, in that famous explanation of mankind's descent into sin and rebellion against God, says that thankfulness was a key missing piece for the human race. Romans 1:21 tells us, "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Among other things, the human race stopped giving thanks to God; we did not obey Him in worship, or rely on Him as our provider. The book of Romans uses "thankfulness" as the key word that sums up this attitude of dependance upon God.
To be thankful in a truly Christian way is important in our fight against sin, and our pursuit of righteousness and worship. So be thankful to God, who governs your life, and means every single detail ultimately to give joy to His people. If we're thankful, we'll obey God even when it's difficult; we won't take gifts and blessings for granted, or feel entitled to them; we'll be free to embrace weakness, and free to lean into trials, because we know that God gives them all to us for our good; we'll spend our lives in worship and work for Christ's kingdom even when it's discouraging to do so, because our thankfulness and joy are in God who commands our faithfulness.
"Burden your moments with thankfulness. Be as empty as you can be when that clock winds down. Spend your life. And if time is a river, may you leave a wake." - N.D. Wilson
Happy Thanksgiving, and see you Sunday!
