Thanksgiving Time

Psalm 92:1-2 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.

I have to admit that Thanksgiving time is one of my favorite times of the year. I love this time of year because many people tend to be a little more grateful for things and a little more giving to others who don’t have as much as they have for themselves. I pray that we don’t lose that in our society. It was a few years ago that around this time a group of kids had been dropped off at Wal-Mart and they were given the task of picking out gifts for other people. They ran up and down the aisles in the store looking for a great gift to give to someone. They found joy in giving, but what was interesting was that they were not giving away something that they had worked hard to earn. Rather, they were giving away something that was bought by another person. For many, it is a little bit harder to give away something that you have worked hard to earn. The natural human instinct is to keep everything for ourselves, and perhaps that is why I like this time of year because it seems to be less of the case.

When we talk about giving thanks to God it should not simply be words that we say, but rather it is a realization of where all good things truly come. The foundation of the Christian faith is the fact that we have been freely given life and salvation on account of Christ’s payment on the cross. Even the faith that connects us to the reality of that life and salvation in Christ is a gift from God. We are like those kids who were dropped off at the store and told to go and bless other people with blessings that are not earned by us as individuals but we are the ones that get to deliver the good news of Jesus to all as well as be a blessing to people who are in need because we understand that even our positions are a gift from God to use for the benefit of the people in our lives.

This Thanksgiving and Christmas season I hope you can see what we truly have to be thankful for and that is the fact that God loves you and in his steadfast love He gave that you would have. God doesn’t hold back in his giving of grace, mercy, and love so much so that we never have to worry that we will not have it for ourselves and in turn get to deliver that reality to the world around us. May you have a blessed Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!