Thankful

Thanksgiving is one of those underrated holidays. It has been hard for the marketing industry to capture it and market it the way they do Christmas for example. But Thanksgiving remains a big deal for us as believers. Maybe you haven’t thought a lot about it but here is the thing – inherent within the concept of being thankful is faith; reason being, because in order to be truly thankful you have to believe that there is Someone to be thankful to! That’s why Thanksgiving is a Christian concept.

I’m not saying that only Christians can be thankful. I know, for example, that an attitude of gratitude can be cultivated in people’s lives even as we are thankful to each other. Teaching our children to say ‘thank you’ when someone does something for them or gives them something is a practice that everyone should engage in. But there is something really special about being thankful to God for a sunset or the food we have on our plates before us or even the air in our lungs. And of course, for those of us who understand the gospel, being thankful for Christ and the gift of life that He gives freely to us, and which cost Him everything, is particularly appropriate, not just at this time of year but as an attitude of our hearts each day.

Gratitude is made a particular Christian virtue when we come to understand that there is absolutely nothing that we have which doesn’t ultimately come from God. Paul put it this way: “What do you have that you didn’t receive?” (1Cor 4:7) Think about it. I mean, really, think about it!   Paul’s point, if you check out the context, is an argument against us thinking that anyone of us is in any significant way different or better than anyone else. He is saying that we are all totally indebted to God for everything (that’s grace by the way) so there is no place in our lives for any kind of prideful boasting of one over against another. In spite of what you may have heard, there are no self made men. They just don’t exist.

In this way, thankfulness is not only inherent within faith but it is also diametrically opposed to pride or self sufficiency, and it plays a key role in keeping us right with one another as well. As I said earlier. It is a big deal. Elsewhere (Rom 1:21), Paul identifies the failure to be thankful as the first step away from a true knowledge of God. When you consider the above it makes sense doesn’t it.

One of the most profound stories coming out of the biblical narrative dealing with the subject of gratitude is the story of the ten lepers, healed by Jesus (Luke 17). The text says that, while all ten were healed, only one returned to thank Christ for healing him. And, there is good warrant from the text to suggest that, while all ten were healed of leprosy, only the one who returned experienced the healing of his soul. All the others were in too big a hurry to get on with their lives. He was the only one who exercised genuine faith in Christ.

To all my brothers and sisters in Christ, happy Thanksgiving.