During this time of year as we look to the Thanksgiving holiday, we continually hear phrases “gratitude” and “give thanks”. We pause for a day, sit down at our tables full of food, and reflect on our blessings. While it is wonderful to be able to do this, how long does this feeling last? A week? A month? Or is it until the credit card statement comes reminding us that it’s time to pay the piper? Maybe you’re a better person than me, but I’ll bet a few of you can identify. Have you ever had a moment in life that just solidified gratitude for you?
I can remember twice in my life when this hit home for me. The first was during a medical mission trip to El Salvador. The people in the villages that we served lived in tiny houses with dirt floors and no electricity. They would walk miles to line up before dawn to see us. Their needs were many, but despite all of that, the smiles and gratitude they displayed far succeeded anything that I had experienced. I was amazed at their continued ability to smile in the face of a life harsher than I could imagine. Gratitude in its purest form – thankfulness for having their basic needs of nutrition, clothing and medical care met. I walked away from that experience with a renewed sense of gratitude for my home and my family.
The second time that I considered the context of physical blessings was when I walked into my parents’ house for the first time after the death of my mother. I was surrounded by all the things that she loved and cherished, and immediately the thought that – you can’t take it with you – hit me full force. It was then that I finally understood that the true blessings are not of this world.
Jesus tells us to “lay up our treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:19-21). How many times do we read through that verse and just keep going? Only those who have lost so much or live with so little really understand that this life is “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). That is not to say that we should shun the physical blessings that we have, but rather put them into context with the reality that we have a hope that is bigger than this life.
Jesus ministered to those who were “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3), and he beckoned the little children to him (Luke 18:16). He was the King of Heaven, but he came down to be “poured out” for us (Matthew 26:28). As we look to the holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are surrounded by the commerce of it all, but help us to realize that if we lost it all tomorrow, would we still be thankful and be able to see the hope that is before us?
17 “So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 6:17-20 (ESV)
Giving God the Glory 