“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” ~ Psalm 100:4, 5
It's Thanksgiving Day in the United States, so much is being said and written here about thankfulness. Many people make and share lists of things that they're thankful for--employment, home, health, family, and friends being prominent. But for those more wanting in these and other of life's benefits, feeling of thankfulness may be harder to summon. When times are hard, we can be overcome with disappointment, grief, bitterness, or envy of those whom we think are more abundantly blessed. We think: if there is a loving God, why did He leave me with so little of those good things, or, why did He take them away?
As one who might be counted among those more abundantly blessed, it would be too easy for me to respond with thoughts like: God never promised us a rose garden; it rains alike on the just and the unjust; even, we should be thankful for whatever we have, as little as it might be. These things are true, and we should remember them when our own road in life becomes rocky. But toward others on that rocky road now, we need to offer more than pious platitudes.
I need to do more to help those less fortunate than I--much more, and soon, as we don't know the day or the hour when our Savior will return (or we'll return to Him) to "close the books," as it were, on our well-doing. I need to go looking for my needy brethren, not wait until they knock on my door. I must, if necessary, go down into the gutters of life with them and get my hands "dirty" in their service--not just donate a few dollars now and then to a charity. Can I be that selfless? Do I have that kind of courage?
We should remember that "thanksgiving" actually consists of two words, "thanks" and "giving." The Lord is pleased whenever we thank Him for the things He has blessed us with. But, whether our means are great or small, the very best expression of our thankfulness is to joyfully share our blessings with all others we encounter in life--to try to do for them, in a great way or small, what God has done for us. If it is truly in giving that we receive, then every person, comfortable or poor, can have the "richest" of lives.
Tom Fleming
Songs of Praises
It's Thanksgiving Day in the United States, so much is being said and written here about thankfulness. Many people make and share lists of things that they're thankful for--employment, home, health, family, and friends being prominent. But for those more wanting in these and other of life's benefits, feeling of thankfulness may be harder to summon. When times are hard, we can be overcome with disappointment, grief, bitterness, or envy of those whom we think are more abundantly blessed. We think: if there is a loving God, why did He leave me with so little of those good things, or, why did He take them away?
As one who might be counted among those more abundantly blessed, it would be too easy for me to respond with thoughts like: God never promised us a rose garden; it rains alike on the just and the unjust; even, we should be thankful for whatever we have, as little as it might be. These things are true, and we should remember them when our own road in life becomes rocky. But toward others on that rocky road now, we need to offer more than pious platitudes.I need to do more to help those less fortunate than I--much more, and soon, as we don't know the day or the hour when our Savior will return (or we'll return to Him) to "close the books," as it were, on our well-doing. I need to go looking for my needy brethren, not wait until they knock on my door. I must, if necessary, go down into the gutters of life with them and get my hands "dirty" in their service--not just donate a few dollars now and then to a charity. Can I be that selfless? Do I have that kind of courage?
We should remember that "thanksgiving" actually consists of two words, "thanks" and "giving." The Lord is pleased whenever we thank Him for the things He has blessed us with. But, whether our means are great or small, the very best expression of our thankfulness is to joyfully share our blessings with all others we encounter in life--to try to do for them, in a great way or small, what God has done for us. If it is truly in giving that we receive, then every person, comfortable or poor, can have the "richest" of lives.
Tom Fleming
Songs of Praises
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