Thanks Giving
The story is told of two old friends bumped into one another on the street one day. One of them looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, "What has the world done to you, my friend?"
The sad fellow said, "Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, an uncle died and left me 10 thousand dollars."
"That’s a lot of money."
"Two weeks ago, a cousin died, and left me 25 thousand.”
"Sounds like you’ve been blessed...."
"You don’t understand!" he interrupted. "Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost 75 thousand."
Now he was really confused. "Then, why do you look so glum?"
"This week... nothing!"
That’s the trouble with receiving something on a regular basis. Even though it’s a gift, we eventually come to expect it. This is the “entitlement mindset” that has embedded itself in American society at almost every level. We have been blessed to live in a land of plenty and as a result we become complacent and many times we are completely unwilling to give thanks to anyone for anything.
Story of Agnes McClellan/dinner
That philosophy of life is all too common even in Christian homes.
Too often we take for granted someone’s love, kindness, and devotion while never saying those two little words, thank you, but, oh my goodness, let dinner be late just one time, or the towel not hung up, we whine and complain.
Okay, men, let me ask you a question, How long has it been since you thanked your wife for the many things she does for you each day? How long has it been since you thanked your wife for putting a good meal on the table after a day at work herself?
And wives, how long has it been since you thanked your husband for the things he does each day? How long since you thanked him for taking out the trash without being asked for once?
Expressed gratitude is always up lifting, it may startle your spouse if you would express some appreciation. There is a little story about a man who had awakened to the fact that he had never told his wife how much she meant to him, and decided to do better. When he came home he greeted her with a hug and a kiss. She began to cry. He said, “What’s wrong dear?”. She said, “The minister is coming to dinner and here you come home drunk”.
You know, sometimes we just have to be thankful for what have or what we are. It’s Thanksgiving Day & the aroma of roast turkey fills Charlie Brown’s house. Snoopy, outside, lying on top of his doghouse, smells that aroma, & he is thinking, “It’s Thanksgiving Day. Everybody eats turkey on Thanksgiving Day.” So he lies there, watching the back door, eagerly awaiting his Thanksgiving dinner.
Finally, the door opens & here comes Charlie Brown with a bowl of dog food, & he puts it on the ground. Snoopy gets off his house & stares at the dog food with a forlorn look on his face. And he thinks, “Just because I’m a dog, I have to eat dog food on Thanksgiving Day.”
Then the next square shows him looking at the dog food more intently, & he is thinking, “It could be worse. I could be the turkey.”
We are to be thankful to God every day of our lives. That means we shouldn’t wait until a special day like “Thanksgiving Day” to be grateful for all God has given us. We are told in 1 Thess. 5:18 that being thankful to Him is His will for our lives. Yet, too many times, we a bunch of ungrateful crybabies. Children are ungrateful to parents, people are ungrateful to others, and worst of all, people are ungrateful to God.
Now, granted, you may sometimes wonder, what do I have to be thankful for? Think about those first settlers. After all of their hardship, they easily could have been bitter, ungrateful people. They had made 7X more graves than homes to live in. Yet, in 1621, they set aside a day of thanksgiving. One person wisely stated, “We do not always get what we ask from God, but we always have reason to thank Him.”
We can make that same statement. No matter what, we always have reason to thank Him. But do we? Maybe the reason to thank Him is BECAUSE we DID NOT GET WHAT WE WANTED. IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING, WE CAN STILL REJOICE, “FOR THE LORD IS GOOD; HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOREVER, AND HIS FAITHFULNESS TO ALL GENERATIONS.”
GOD IS GOOD (ALL THE TIME) ALL THE TIME (GOD IS GOOD)
2,000 years ago, Jesus walked among us. As He was on this journey, He was met by 10 lepers. We’re not sure of their nationalities but we do know that one was a despised Samaritan. They called out to Jesus, “Master, have pity on us!" Jesus simply said, "Go show yourself to the priests." Miraculously, on their way, they were totally healed. But sadly, only the Samaritan returned: "He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him". Only one of the 10 felt they had reason to return and give thanks.
As we come to Thanksgiving Day take some time to survey your life. Ask God to bring instances to your mind when you completely forgot to thank someone. Maybe it was a small favor. Make an effort to thank at least one person you failed to thank earlier. That one will be surprised, delighted--and thankful. Why don’t you be the one in ten who is always grateful?
People who are truly thankful don’t complain, they find a reason to be grateful. Matthew Henry, who wrote a commentary on every book of the Bible, was once robbed. The thieves took everything of value that he had. Later that evening he wrote in his diary these words, “I am thankful that during these years I have never been robbed before. Also, even though they took my money, they did not take my life. Although they took all I had, it was not much. Finally, I am grateful that it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”
People who are truly thankful don’t complain, they find a reason to be grateful. I think of farmers in that way. Farmers have good reason to complain. But most farmers that I know hold dear God’s charge in the 1st 2 chapters of Genesis “to oversee and care for God’s good creation.” They understand that the stewardship of the earth is a sacred task. And because of this charge they find reason to be grateful and they fully understand whom to be grateful to.
Mrs. Green thanked Tom, the grocery boy, for delivering a loaf of bread. "Don’t thank me. Thank Grocer Jones," Tom smiled. "He gave me the loaf to deliver."
But when she thanked the grocer, he said, "I get the bread from Baker Brown. He makes it, so he deserves the thanks."
So Mrs. Green thanked the baker. But he told her that Miller Smith should be given the gratitude. "Without Miller Smith’s flour, I could not make bread," Brown replied.
When she thanked the miller, he told her to thank Farmer Foster because he made the flour from Farmer Foster’s wheat. But the farmer also protested, "Don’t thank me; thank God," Foster said. "If He did not give my farm sunshine and rain, I could not grow wheat."
Even a common loaf of bread can be traced back to God, the Giver of "every good and perfect gift"
We must remember whom to thank, where our help comes from.
Alex Haley, the author of "Roots," has an unusual picture hanging on his office wall. It was a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post. When asked, "Why is that there?" Haley answered, "Every time I write something significant, every time I read my words & think that they are wonderful, & begin to feel proud of myself, I look at the turtle on top of the fence post & remember that he didn’t get there on his own. He had help."
That is the basis of thankfulness - to remember that we got here with the help of God, & that He is the provider of every blessing we have.
I think back to last Sunday as our Lay Pastor class graduated. It was a wonderful and bittersweet ceremony filled with laughter and tears. It was asked of our class to select a spokesperson for our class. Karen was chosen and I feel she captured our feelings perfectly and eloquently.
She shared our joys, our sorrows, our escapades, our relief felt at completing this program, & our sadness at the ending of this part of our journey. She spoke for all of us when she started thanking those who were instrumental to bringing us to that day. Thanks were given to our classmates for becoming a family who could lean on each other.
Thanks were given to the staff at Geneva Center for the accommodations and wonderful meals. Thanks were given for the instructors who committed their time and energy to teach us and share their wisdom. Thanks were given to the Lay Pastor task force for the work and effort put into developing this program into what it is.
But most importantly, thanks were given for God who called us to and led us on this journey.
In closing, I think back to one of the stops on my journey. On Nov. 4th, I was examined by the NWQ COM. I had to present my statement of faith, preach a sermon (in front of 5 people!), and answer questions to determine my readiness to assume the role of Commissioned Lay Pastor.
In the course of the examination, one of the members of the committee (an ordained minister & seminary graduate) made an interesting and, I feel true, statement. He said that seminary is good for teaching you theology, doctrine, history, etc. But seminary does not teach you how to be a “Pastor”.
He and I both feel that learning how to Pastor comes from you, the people in the church. He did not learn to Pastor in seminary. I did not learn to Pastor in the Lay Pastor Training Program. I have learned that from you. And today, I want to thank each and every one of you for what I have learned from you.
But in remembering our scripture, I want to “Give thanks to him, bless his name.” I thank you, but most of all I want to thank God for bringing me to this church, to you, so we can share in this journey together.
Remember:
GOD IS GOOD (ALL THE TIME) ALL THE TIME (GOD IS GOOD)
AMEN!!!
