November 22, 2005
It appears to me that it is God’s nature to give abundant blessing to His children. It also appears that it is not as natural for us to say “Thank you.” So we instituted the National Day of Thanksgiving as a reminder to offer thanks, (however disingenuously), to Almighty God.
The contrast of circumstances is startling. A family in Pearlington, Mississippi, (where I lived for six years) is in their third month “camped out” on the concrete slab of what once was their ancestral home. Still there is no plumbing, no electricity (except for the small generator) no money, no stores to spend the money if they had any. The father lies in a Slidell Hospital near death, having lost the will to live. When he dies, he will not be counted among the casualties of Hurricane Katrina. But he will be another Katrina casualty, nonetheless. Thanksgiving is two days away.
A family in San Diego “camped out” all night. They want to be the first in line when Best Buy opens so they will be assured they will get the new XBOX game computer. In San Diego, we have plenty of electricity, food, plumbing, money and stores in which to spend it. We will have plenty of time to rest and play this long weekend, because Thanksgiving is just two days away.
Thanksgiving has roots all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Even Cain and Abel knew they did not cause their herds and crops to grow. They brought their Thanksgiving offerings to Almighty God. Abel offered a Thanksgiving from among “the firstlings (best) of his flocks” while Cain brought just “some fruits of the soil”. We learn much about offering thanks to God from this story. Abel offered God thanks with his best; Cain offered a casual, insincere thanks. With Thanksgiving just two days away, how will we demonstrate our gratitude?
In 2 Samuel 24:24, King David said unto Araunah, “Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing.” Thanksgiving, if done correctly, will cost us something.
I wish for you and your family and your loved ones a genuine Thanksgiving; filled with gratitude for blessings too many to number, abundantly undeserved from Our Father who loves giving good gifts to His children.
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