4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name! – Psalm 100:4
Be Thankful
I woke up at 4:00 this morning and panicked. Today is Thanksgiving day and I am not prepared. I knew it was coming. It’s on the calendar. My employer gave me a box of food. I have the day off work. The island in the kitchen is covered with pies and cookies. Tables and chairs are all taken care of. So what is there left to do? Be thankful.
No Shortage
Is it only me, or are most of us in our society “spoiled”? Christ tells us to pray for our daily bread, but do we do it in faith and gratitude when we have a refrigerator and multiple freezers full of food? Daily bread? We’re stockpiled for a zombie apocalypse. No shortage of bread here.
My closet is in competition with my freezers. It is crammed with clothes. If I can’t decide what to wear it is because of excess, not lack. The only shortage in the closet is hangers and hooks. No shortage of clothes.
How about shelter? Most of us have plenty of room to spare. If necessary, we could accommodate upwards of fifty people in our homes. They wouldn’t all have a cozy bed but we could keep them warm and dry in a crisis. And that is only our residence. How about that cottage or second home? No shortage of housing.
How about transportation? I remember when most families had one car. If you had two, you were wealthy. Now, it seems there are more cars in the driveway than drivers in the house. We are a society on the go and our plethora of autos reflects such. Like our clothes, our dilemma is which auto to drive today. No shortage of transportation.
How about Bibles? We’ve got them in King James, New King James, New American Standard, NIV, and ESV. Those are only the translations, how about the niche bibles? Bibles for students, teens, grandparents, etc. I’m having a hard time locating my bible for CPA’s with blue eyes, but I know it is around here somewhere. If I can’t locate it soon, I’ll just order the bible for blind CPA’s over 50 years old. No shortage of Bibles.
Excess Danger
Why do I talk about excess on Thanksgiving? For the obvious reason, that excess can rob us of our thankfulness. If our excess doesn’t, our greed will. Let’s face it, we struggle with both. Thanksgiving has evolved from a special day set aside to recognize our dependence upon God, to a speed bump on the road to Christmas, to an afterthought, steamrolled by the new “spirit” of Christmas. As if we don’t already have enough possessions, Black Friday “begins” well before we prepare our Thanksgiving meals.
See why I woke up in a panic? We need to look in our mirrors. Are we truly thankful? I am not saying that having material things is wrong, but ingratitude is. Excess and thankfulness are not mutually exclusive, but they aren’t exactly Siamese twins. It takes a mature Christian, and I personally have not yet arrived. I’m spoiled, but at least I recognize it. Which means, there is hope.
Simplify & Share
I have resolved to simplify my life. The guns I haven’t shot for years are going. Same with the clothes I haven’t worn since who knows when. As I have thought about this issue, I have come to the conclusion that it is better to share my excess, when possible, rather than giving it away. When I share my possessions, I share myself as well. I know this is a wise plan because it is what God has done with His wealth.
When God looks at us, he sees lack, not excess. Spiritual zombies walking in darkness totally unable to save ourselves. God did not send a legion of angels to save us, rather He came and shared in our flesh and blood (Hebrews 2:14). He gave of Himself. He didn’t just reach down, He reached out. He shared in our flesh and blood, so we could share in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).
Excess In Christ
Want to talk about excess? God has given us the body of Christ as our bread and wine. Through faith in His sacrifice, we will never have an unsatiated spiritual hunger or thirst. We will have food to nourish us that the world doesn’t comprehend.
As children of God, we have been clothed with the Righteousness of Christ. According to Colossians chapter three, our closet now contains clothes of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
As children of God, Christ has promised us a heavenly dwelling. In fact, He is preparing it for us right now. Until He calls us home, He has turned our hearts into temples and taken up residence in us.
As children of God, we have been transported into the Heavenly places with Christ. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3)!! As citizens of Heaven, we can now store our treasures there where they will await our arrival. Never will they be subject to decay.
As children of God, our fellowship is with the incarnate Word. Obviously, He speaks to us through His written Word, but with the Holy Spirit indwelling us, we now have the ability to understand any translation of the Bible and have the Word speak to our souls and not just our minds.
Thanksgiving Reminders
Don’t let your material excess blind you of your spiritual wealth. God has blessed you beyond comprehension. He loves you with an everlasting love. His mercies are new every morning. When you were dead in your sins, He offered you eternal life. The list is endless. James tells us that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from God, Himself (James 1:17).
This Thanksgiving may your material excess remind you of your spiritual blessings. Might your Thanksgiving cornucopia proclaim the generosity of God. I challenge you to look for someone to share your blessings and by extension, yourself with. Use your blessings to bless others. More importantly, take time to come into God’s presence with a thankful heart and praise on your lips. He didn’t save you from being a spiritual zombie to see you become an ungrateful child. As the Psalmist says, we are to thank Him and praise His name.
Thanksgiving day is just another reminder.
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18