Thanksgiving Is a Verb

I was thinking this morning about the whole idea of thanksgiving and what it means. I heard one of the guys in our congregation say that he and his wife take time every day with their kids to talk about what each one is thankful for. I thought that was fantastic. What a different outlook on life that will produce over the course of a couple of decades.

In our home growing up, as in many American families, Thanksgiving centered around a feast. There is nothing inherently wrong with that of course, and we did take a brief moment to say a prayer of thanks for all our blessings, but I was mostly focused on the food. I think that if we are not building a much stronger culture of gratitude than that into our children's lives, we are doing them a great disservice. Of course we were encouraged to be thankful at other times too, and we were reminded to "count our blessings" whenever we would complain about the lack of something, but in my estimation my own sense of gratitude needed to be deeper. It wasn't until God became very real in my life, And I began to grasp the enormity of the sacrifice that Jesus made for me, the depth of my own non-deservedness (that's a word 'cause I just used it), and the magnitude of Gods grace, that I really started to be grateful in life.

So, I was pondering a few questions this morning, and I thought some of you might want to ponder them with me:

What does thanksgiving, or thankfulness, really mean if there is no one specifically that you are thankful to? You could feel happy about some aspects of your life, or maybe even feel "blessed" knowing that some people don't have it as good as you do, but is that gratitude? Gratitude has to have an object, doesn't it?

Thanksgiving is not just a feeling, but an expression. Isn't it an expression of gratitude to someone that has shown us kindness, provided for us in some way, or somehow made our lives better? But many people around us say they do not believe in a personal God, so who exactly are they thankful to? If we believe that there is no one but ourselves that is responsible for the good things that we have or enjoy, then who are we saying thank you (did you see the word YOU in thank you?) to?

I guess you could be thankful to your parents, your friends, the society itself; but from where I sit, if you take God out of the picture, the giving of thanks for the blessings of life loses all its meaning. Sure, we are grateful to and for many people and things. But ultimately, all things are to Him, through Him, and for Him. I can be grateful because I have worked hard and carved out such a wonderful life for myself (even saying that makes me a little sick) but who provided me with the talents I possess, the resources I use, the very life in my bones? I feel very sad for people who are missing out on this aspect of life. Gratitude to God fills our lives with humility and peace.

No, thanksgiving is inherently personal, and must be directed toward someone, or it's not thanksgiving. And, it is extremely important that thanks actually be given, that is, expressed in word and deed rather than just thought about - thanksgiving is a verb. My family said grace, and maybe mentioned a few extra things on Thanksgiving Day, but I wish we had taken time to really discuss what we were grateful for, and to whom we were grateful. It is a wonderful and fulfilling thing to give thanks to God. This past Sunday we took the majority of our church service for people to stand up and talk about what they were thankful for. It was wonderfully encouraging for everyone.

So, I simply encourage you today to not only ponder what you are thankful for, but tell God about it, and tell others. And let's go far beyond this short season, and build a continual culture of thanksgiving into our hearts and homes.

Happy Thanksgiving (a verb)

Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3, NIV).

One day, as the crowds that followed Jesus grew, He called His twelve disciples apart for a bit of leadership training. Jesus knew that the only way He could make sure that this growing multitude was cared for was for Him to, in essence, multiply Himself by equipping His disciples to work with Him in His ministry. Most of what we typically call “The Sermon on The Mount” was a training session that Jesus gave to a small group of His closest followers.

The verse above is recorded in Matthew 5:3, and was one of Jesus’ opening remarks. For the modern Christian, this can be a difficult verse to understand. It sounds in English almost like Jesus is encouraging people to be spiritually poverty stricken–to go through life without spiritual growth, maturity, or resources.

But Jesus was speaking to a Jewish audience, and He spoke to them in Aramaic, not in English. As in every other culture on earth, the words that He used had a specific meaning within that culture. We have this same phenomenon in America and in the English language. For example, I might tell someone to Xerox a document or a picture. We all know that Xerox is actually the name of an American corporation. But I am not telling the person to contact Xerox, to locate the nearest Xerox office, or even to make a copy of the document only using a copier made by Xerox. What I am actually saying is that they should make a photocopy of something.

When the term Xerox first came into our language, it referred to a company. But over time languages evolve and take on specific meanings that the local speaker and hearer both know. To an outsider, a word or phrase might be confusing, but to an insider it makes perfect sense. Every language evolves over time like this. Thank God we have so many great resources at our disposal so that we can discover the deeper meanings of Bible passages like this one.

The people that Jesus was speaking to that day knew exactly what He was saying. Bible scholar William Barclay tells us that the word “poor” used in this passage was an Aramaic word that had gone through four stages of development. It started out simply meaning poor. It came to mean, because of being poor, lacking in influence or power. Then it began to mean that because a person lacked influence or power, they began to be downtrodden or oppressed by men of power. And finally it came to refer to a person who because they had no influence or power, and had no resources of their own to resist the oppressor, they put their entire trust in God alone.

It is also important to remember that the Beatitudes are written not as suggestions, but as declarations of absolute truth. In Matthew 5:3 Jesus is declaring that for the person who has come to grips with the fact that in their own natural selves they have no power or resources to overcome in the spiritual arena, and so have put their entire trust in God, the whole Kingdom of Heaven is at their disposal – WOW! What a great truth! This person who was bankrupt of power, ability, and options, now has the whole force of God’s Kingdom backing them.

This applies to every one of us doesn’t it? None of us have the power within our flesh to overcome even garden-variety sin, let alone deal with the sin nature that we inherited from Poppa Adam. But when we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, the sin nature is removed, we become new creatures in Him, we are delivered from the control of sin, and we begin a process of growth that brings victory and liberty where sin is concerned.

And, it doesn’t stop there. In fact victory over sin is just the beginning. In Christ we enjoy real friendship with God, the Bible says that we have the mind of Christ and hold His thoughts and purposes in our hearts. In Christ there is peace that overcomes all kinds of fear. In Christ we have healing, joy, prosperity spirit, soul, and body, satisfaction in our work, purpose, hope, strength, and new life. We could go on and on compiling the list of things with which we who were once so impoverished are now equipped.

If we take the time to meditate on a verse like Matthew 5:3 until it becomes a personal revelation to us, we will never again approach any aspect of life from the viewpoint of being ill-equipped, without power or influence, or as people who are under the thumb of the oppressor. Instead we can begin to live each day with a view toward possibilities, instead of impossibilities.

Powerful, life-changing, and all yours when you simply stop depending on your own ability, or the resources that man can provide for you, and begin depending on Christ alone.

What Is The Good Life?

Let me ask you a question; how would you define “The Good Life?” All my life I have heard this phrase kicked around. As a culture, we believe that everyone deserves to have a shot at “The Good Life.” Parents want their children to have “The Good Life,” even if they themselves have not reached it. We debate public policy, elect and fire political representatives, relocate our families, and change careers, all in pursuit of “The Good Life.” Sometimes we call it “The American Dream.” Or is “The American Dream” just one part of “The Good Life?”

OK, Enough with the quotes and capital letters, I think you get the idea. There is really nothing wrong with wanting to live a long and satisfying life. Actually that is a part of what the Bible calls the blessing of God. There is nothing wrong with trying to create a society where every individual has an equal opportunity to succeed, as long as we don’t confuse that with trying to mandate equal outcomes in life for all people–to do that you invariably have to take away freedom. And certainly, all good parents want their children to have it better than they did. The real question is, in your own thinking, what constitutes “The Good Life” (yeah I know, but the quotes were really important right there).

Many people in our society would define “You Know What” in purely material or financial terms. Some would say that being financially well off is good, but would add being healthy to the mix. Some might point to holding a respected position in their community or company, some might think in terms of relationships, some in terms of happiness. While none of those things are wrong in and of themselves, I think they still miss the mark because they essentially leave God and His Kingdom out of the equation. I am convinced that not only do God and a growing relationship with Him have to be a part of a definition of the good life but, they are the central, indispensable, undisputable core of the good life.

The reality is that we are spiritual beings created in God’s image, and created with the need to know Him personally and intimately. We were literally designed to interact with God, to worship and glorify God, and to reflect His nature on earth. Only in that capacity do we find true joy and fulfillment. Most of the people who read this blog are Christians, and therefore probably find little to disagree with in that statement. But, what I have come to realize is that many of us are still viewing God and spiritual growth as add-ons to our lives, instead of these things being the core reasons for living.

Another way to look at this is, many Americans would in one way or another define the good life as comfort and satisfaction coupled with the avoidance of trouble, difficulty, and pain. We live our lives seeking to avoid anything that would challenge us, demand that we change our attitudes and lifestyle, produce conflict, or put us in a negative light in the eyes of our peers.

But, if we are really going to live our lives with God, spiritual growth, and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world, as our core motivating factors, we are NOT going to be able to be comfortable all the time. We will inevitably have to do some spiritual warfare; most of it revolving around the deep and dynamic changes that God wants to bring to our old ways of thinking and behaving. We will be confronted inwardly and outwardly with change. Much of our lives will be marked by self-sacrifice in terms of how we spend our time, energy and money. We will certainly not be able to play the political correctness game that is such a part of maintaining any sense of popularity in this society. At times our message, and we ourselves, will be rejected and possibly persecuted for our beliefs.

Now, along with those negatives, we will experience the blessing of God, the power of His presence, and the satisfaction that only comes through fulfilling His will in our lives. Yes we will be blessed beyond measure, and our lives will count for something eternal. This is good stuff, but maybe we need to rethink our definition of “The Good Life.” We must realize that some of the challenges we face are simply a part of the process of spiritual growth and living for God that we value so much. Therefore, are they not a part of “The Real Good Life?”

I want to live “The Good Life” as defined by Jesus Christ. And, I want what I do with my life to pave the way for future generations to find and live that good life better, faster, and more deeply than I do. How about you?