Time for Thanksgiving
The title of the post may mislead. I'm not intending to sound as if I have a set time to offer my thanks, nor am I proposing that blessings must accrue before I give thanks for them. The title merely suggests that the American holiday of Thanksgiving has arrived (well, it's only three days away).
I know the heritage enveloping this special holiday, and I respect it very much. However, it shouldn't take a national holiday to remind me to give thanks for the blessings flowing my way. I know the thought sounds trite - "Thanksgiving should be everyday for Christians." Trite, yeah, but true. I must admit, rarely do I think about just how blessed I am. I can't begin to list all of the realities in my life that bring me joy and happiness for which I must drop to my knees and praise and thank God for his kindness.
The thought occurs to me that Christianity as its lived by too many, hardly grips the soul and demands an ever present thankfulness. I often witness that some of those professing to follow Christ rarely acknowledge the life altering impact of Christianity - a difference that would cause the thankless to assume an immediate posture of gratitude. Nothing we could ever imagine or dream up could come close to the significance of the change wrought in a life given to Jesus. In Christ the void fills, the hopeless find hope, the aimless find direction and the have-nothings have everything! I want Christianity to affect me like this, don't you? And can you imagine the appreciation exuding from people who've experienced and genuinely understood this affect of Jesus on them? They most certainly wouldn't need to read through my meanderings about being thankful!
As I examine my own life and thoughts, I tremble that I haven't allowed the import of Christianity to prompt me to more thankfulness. I need to live as though I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Jesus (and it's certainly true). I need to live as though I can't say thank you enough - thanks-a-million won't cut it. And one day, one week or some passing moment of robotic graciousness won't do either. No, my prayers, thoughts and actions must continually mirror the appreciation I should hold for my Lord. Anything less would fail to measure up to the debt I owe. It's time for thanksgiving.
I know the heritage enveloping this special holiday, and I respect it very much. However, it shouldn't take a national holiday to remind me to give thanks for the blessings flowing my way. I know the thought sounds trite - "Thanksgiving should be everyday for Christians." Trite, yeah, but true. I must admit, rarely do I think about just how blessed I am. I can't begin to list all of the realities in my life that bring me joy and happiness for which I must drop to my knees and praise and thank God for his kindness.
The thought occurs to me that Christianity as its lived by too many, hardly grips the soul and demands an ever present thankfulness. I often witness that some of those professing to follow Christ rarely acknowledge the life altering impact of Christianity - a difference that would cause the thankless to assume an immediate posture of gratitude. Nothing we could ever imagine or dream up could come close to the significance of the change wrought in a life given to Jesus. In Christ the void fills, the hopeless find hope, the aimless find direction and the have-nothings have everything! I want Christianity to affect me like this, don't you? And can you imagine the appreciation exuding from people who've experienced and genuinely understood this affect of Jesus on them? They most certainly wouldn't need to read through my meanderings about being thankful!
As I examine my own life and thoughts, I tremble that I haven't allowed the import of Christianity to prompt me to more thankfulness. I need to live as though I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Jesus (and it's certainly true). I need to live as though I can't say thank you enough - thanks-a-million won't cut it. And one day, one week or some passing moment of robotic graciousness won't do either. No, my prayers, thoughts and actions must continually mirror the appreciation I should hold for my Lord. Anything less would fail to measure up to the debt I owe. It's time for thanksgiving.
posted by Josh Linton at
7:40 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home