“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for men.”
(Psalm 107:8)
“Thanksgiving Day” originated in America, but the virtue of thanksgiving did not. Thanksgiving is as old as man himself. So is the lack of it. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”
(Psalm 103:2) Gratitude unto the heavenly Father is fundamental to a child of God. The man who forgets to be thankful has forgotten how blessed he is. Thanksgiving is not just a time of the year, but an attitude of the heart. W. E. Sangster wrote: “So far as thanksgiving is concerned, the mass of people can be divided into two classes: Those who take things for granted and those who take things with gratitude.”
One of the greatest causes of evil in the world is that man has failed to be thankful to God. Man’s attention is so often focused on what we do not have rather than what we have. Counting our blessings is a great and profitable exercise. Adam and Eve, in the very beginning, were not satisfied with thanking God for His bountiful provisions for them. They focused rather on what was not given to them and “became futile in their thinking.” We are sometimes no different by neglecting to thank God for what we have and complaining over what we do not have. Gratitude is the heart’s memory. Thanksgiving is such a powerful and effective anecdote for the sins that plague our lives.
“Thanksgiving” is a wonderful holiday. Grant it, there is not the focus on Christ as there is with “Christmas,” but neither is it so commercialized. It is a great holiday for the family. We are hosting both sides of our family for Thanksgiving this year. It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it!
Understand, thanksgiving is much more than a verbal declaration; thanksgiving is a life! Among the sacrifices the Jews were commanded to offer was one called the “Thank Offering.” The Christian is to offer a thank offering to God. Paul wrote: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present (offer) your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1) The greatest thanksgiving of all is ‘thanksliving.’ We will all be better people and better servants of God if we can use this coming “Thanksgiving Day” as a primer for the whole year ahead. “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
(I Thessalonians 5:18).