Thankfulness
Once again in October, we cluster as friends and families in varied number clamour around the “Harvest Table,” where oft sits gleaming like an over-stuffed centrepiece, the most delicious, savoury, and aromatic feast that ever “gobbled” its way into a turkey pen.
For all the reasons you or I could imagine, Thanksgiving comes only once a year, and it’s seemingly unfortunate that such a feast is rare and not offered more frequently. But then, we might come to expect the banquet… no longer appreciating its specialness. Of course, we, who are followers of Christ, are grateful for all we have as embodied in the rich bounty set before those of my anecdote. We give thanks for the meal, thematically remembering the season of Thanksgiving. But I wonder, do we really understand the essence and purpose of the celebration? Such is the reality that King David often wrote of in his songs of worship:
“That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all [the Lord’s] wondrous works.”
Not surprisingly, the principles of following Jesus, even at a staggering cost, are as much at play with those who are persecuted as they are for those whose harvest tables are overflowing with the present-day riches of His “Kingdom.” Our afflicted brothers and sisters rely on God’s Word and truth everyday as they live by His love and discipline with hearts full of thanksgiving for the privilege of service. Being thankful, and expressing thankfulness to God, changes us. Perhaps we don’t fully appreciate how much.
I enjoy writing aphorisms, which are also interpreted to be proverbs (memorable sayings that encapsulate the essence and applicability of a point). Here are some proverbs that I’ve written to shed light on the subject of Thanksgiving, followed by more of King David’s songwriting.
Thankfulness expresses contentment.
In thanksgiving to God, we are declaring the extent and sufficiency of His bestowment upon us. The point at which we cease to desire more is the point at which we are content with less.
This is yet another way to understand the scale and measure of His provisions for us – and express our contentment according to His judgement over the allotment of these provisions – which are over all that we think we need.
Thanksgiving fosters gratitude, humbleness and repentance.
Declaring the scope of God’s dominion by expressing thankfulness and the principles of His Kingdom is a great act of defining faith.
Being thankful in all circumstances is equivalent to acknowledging God’s sovereignty over everything.
We are thankful when we believe there is something for which to be thankful. That vision crystalizes the object of our faith and, by such power, makes it real.
Thankfulness gives everything that we encounter in God’s Kingdom a sense of scale and perspective.
When we are thankful to God for all things, then we fully understand God’s Kingship and His authority in all of creation.
- Doug
