I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.
Psalm 116:17
We can all remember our mothers teaching us basic manners. If we want something we have to say the magic word. The customary reply… Thank you! Simple manners with easy words to remember. To say thank you is an expected response if someone does anything for you. But how often is this response simply an automatic reply, without much thought or intention? Often I would guess.
On the other hand, to be thankful moves beyond a cultural expectation. Thankfulness is a heart condition. To be thankful builds deep within us and moves far beyond words. In fact, unlike a thank you, true thankfulness cannot be expressed simply in words. That is because thankfulness is based on gratefulness and gratitude. Gratefulness is the realization and appreciation of something good being done to you. Gratitude is what we feel and the motivation to return kindness. Gratefulness and gratitude stem from a core response that causes us to feel cared about and bolsters the feeling of hope in our life. One of the greatest reasons we feel thankful is because compassion has been extended toward us.
When it comes to thankfulness, we have even created a national holiday for it. However, how much of this federal day off for Thanksgiving has stayed true to its original intention? There is an excitement that seems to be built around food, family and a four day weekend for many. With all the busyness of the day, how much time do we actually spend being thankful?
Then there is the God factor. When it comes to God, there is so much to be thankful for. In fact, it is limitless because God encompasses everything good in our lives. But, should our thankfulness toward God be and look differently than our thankfulness towed anything else?
The Scriptures are full of examples and teachings about giving thanks to the Lord. From lepers, to Daniel, to Paul, to Hannah, to the Samaritan woman, to Jesus Himself, we find a genuine thankful heart expressed toward God in so many situations. How they chose to exhibit thankfulness may have differed, but the heart behind it stemmed from the same place. A deep gratefulness and gratitude toward the Creator of all things. Such a small statement on our part, but because it is a true heart expression, God accepts our thankfulness as a sacrifice. Psalm 116:17 mentions the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was central to worship in the Old Testament. In the New Testament church, it’s just as important. Ephesians 5:19 says, …giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul is making a specific and broad statement all at the same time. We are to be giving thanks or expressing a thankful heart always for everything in a personal way to God.
In the grand scheme of eternity, this makes the holiday of Thanksgiving somewhat menial. As born-again followers of Christ however, we live in the eternal hope of the Father. To be and express thankfulness for that should be our heart’s desire. That changes how we live right now. The thankfulness we express toward others should be based on our thankfulness we have for God, every day. This principle is the same one we find in love. If the love shown to others is not the love of God, is it truly love at all?
Jason Metz, lead Pastor
