Thanksgiving...not necessarily a compound word!

I came upon a visual this week while looking for a thanksgiving image that divided this compound word into two pieces. It started me thinking about thanks and giving.

It has always been special to me that Thanksgiving comes before Christmas. Honestly when we give thanks to God for his amazing love, care, compassion, long suffering, patience and looking the other way that is more than enough but then comes the best gift of all Christmas. Christmas, when God gives his very best to us, Christ, as our present in essence saying thank you. Is it possible God would say thank you to me? I think so. In that progression of holidays it is important to see the order.

Yes, Thanksgiving comes before Christmas that’s because of the calendar. But I want you to see thanks comes before giving in both the word and the holidays. That is the proper order. I know we make it smaller by giving thanks and stop there. But it doesn’t stop there. If I was truly thankful I would give in response to the blessings I have received, giving coming after thanking, just like the season. But stopping is what we do, isn’t it. We give thanks in some way probably not enough (quantity) and not well enough (quality) and then sit back and watch some football. We did our duty, right?

Right, we did our duty or did we? In our practice thanksgiving is not a compound word and yet thru thankfulness would be evidenced by giving. We have been blessed to be a blessing! Max Lucado* likens thankfulness to worship,

Worship is a voluntary act of gratitude offered by the saved to the Savior, by the healed to the Healer, and by the delivered to the Deliverer.

He goes on in this “worship” theme to say.

Worship is when you’re aware that what you’ve been given is far greater than what you can give.

Worship is the “thank you” that refuses to be silenced.

The Bible says,

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Psalm 107:31 NIV 1984

We have so much to “worship” God. Sometimes we are thankful and sometimes we give but what if… just what if our giving resulted from our thankfulness. We responded to the outrageous blessings of God by giving. The season primes us for the task. More folks give at Christmas. How about us folks be at the front of the pack giving because we know God, his Son and are filled with His Holy Spirit?

This Thanksgiving let’s start with thanks and compound it with giving. Then it will truly be a compound word and not only that but compound action.

 Happy Thanksgiving to you and those you love!    

  

In HIS Service and Yours,
The Rev


*Grace for the Moment © 2000 Max Lucado, J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., exclusively for Hallmark Cards. P. 346 “Saying ‘Thank You’”.