Thanksgiving: A Grateful Heart

All Religions and Psychology Agree: When We Live in a Grateful, Thankful Attitude, Life Goes Better All the Way Around

Not everyone lives in the U.S.A., but we have a holiday called ‘Thanksgiving.’ This year it is Thursday, November 26, 2020.

It began with our founders: the first people who came to what they called ‘the new world.’ They were thankful they made it across the Atlantic from England without drowning, and the Native American Indians hadn’t scalped them.

They Celebrated the First ‘Thanksgiving.’

The gospel is a personification of this. In it, we receive all ‘the good news of good things of God’ (Rom 10:15). We get all of his blessings (Eph 1:3). Jesus came to abolish death, bring us abundant earthly life and eternal life too (2 Tim 1:10). Understanding and receiving all the things Jesus came to bring us makes us grateful and thankful.

This evolves into praise and worship to God.

In Luke, Jesus talks about 10 lepers he healed, but only one of them returned to say thanks. This shouldn’t be how we live, now should it?

But then if it were, would we ever have any desire for heaven? Paul says be thankful for things of earth but keep one eye on heaven too (Col 3:2).

Of Course, We’re Not Thankful For Everything

Not everything in life turns out the way we want it to. Life isn’t a ‘rose garden.’ And I’ve heard some people remark that this year of 2020 is just not a year to be very thankful for. We’ve all experienced a degree of this.

A humorous side to this has been circulating about the movie, “BACK TO THE FUTURE.” Marty was getting ready to take a time-travel trip. The scientist said to him, “Whatever you do, don’t go back to 2020.”

Not everything in life is the way we want it to be. We all want ‘A better life’ in some way or another. If we are sick, ailing with cancer, or are injured, or someone we care about a lot is dying, we surely want a better life. And many other things make us want a better life too.

But We Should Still Be Thankful and Grateful!

Thanksgiving is so much more than a holiday. It is an attitude of heart.

No matter how much we might wish and dream for a better life, life with God is still substantially better than life without God. The gospel of God gives us God’s presence and power we can’t experience in any other way.

“In Everything Give Thanks” (I Thes 5:18).

This doesn’t say to give thanks FOR everything. Again, we are not thankful for cancer, injury, or death. Life has four very general parts to it: (1) birth (2) times of happiness, gladness, and joy (3) times of sorrow, sadness, and tragedy (4) death

It’s a stretch to be thankful and grateful FOR some things. But if we learn to be thankful and grateful IN everything, we live life on higher ground. When we believe and trust in God, we are part of one big family, part of which is in heaven and part of which is on earth (Eph 3:15).

We can always keep one eye on heaven, realizing there is a bigger picture than just what we see right in front of us.