PREREQUISITES
OF THANKSGIVING
In
keeping with a custom older than our nation, Americans will
observe
Thanksgiving this week. The first American day of
Thanksgiving
was proclaimed by Governor William Bradford of the
Massachusetts
Bay Colony on December 13, 1621. Since that time
Thanksgiving
has been a day reserved for the expression of gratitude
to
God for the many evidences of His sure and lasting mercies toward
His
creatures.
Perhaps
this national holiday is an especially appropriate time for us
as
Christians to consider and celebrate the reasons we have for
giving
daily thanks to our Maker. And, as we do so, we would do well
to
reflect upon the following requirements of genuine thanksgiving.
1.
Thanksgiving Requires Thought. The English words "think" and
"thank"
come from the same Anglo-Saxon root word. Perhaps one
reason
so few really thank is because so few really think! Let us
learn
to say: ÒWe have thought on Your lovingkindness, O GodÉÓ
(Psalm
48.9).
2.
Thanksgiving Requires Contentment. Our nation is
characterized
by a spirit of restlessness which mirrors the
fundamental
discontent of its people. We have the highest standard
of
living in history and we still are not satisfied! Paul caught the
spirit
of Christ when he said: ÒHaving food and clothing, let us be
content.Ó
(I Timothy 6.8.)
3.
Thanksgiving Requires Worship. Genuine appreciation seeks to
express
itself to its Benefactor. The highest form of thanksgiving is
worship;
the highest form of worship is thanksgiving. Thirty-one
times
in the book of Psalms Ñ The Jewish manual of Worship Ñ some
form
of the words "thanks" or "thanksgiving" appears.
4.
Thanksgiving Requires Service. Real gratitude reaches out.
Those
who have been blessed with the bounty of God must share
that
bounty with others. The Christian must strive to become a
conduit
through which the blessings of God flow on to enrich the
lives
of those around him. As we have been blessed by God so let us
become
His means of blessing others!
-BOBBY
DOCKERY
Fayetteville,
Arkansas
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