Today was a great day. It allows us to give a little extra thought to why we should be thankful, what we should be thankful for and to who we need to direct that thanks.
It is actually a blessing to be thankful, as many people think that they deserve what they have for something they have done or accomplished. They see no need to be thankful to God for giving them what they have. This includes the gifts He has blessed each and every person with, saved and un-saved.
So, what are you most thankful for? First I am thankful that God did give me a thankful heart to praise Him. Without His intervention I would be one of those self centered thinking that I deserve all that was "good" in my life and was being punished for all of the "bad" that I was doing. To list a few things I am most thankful to God, for His love and sacrifice of Christ for my sin. For things of this world I am thankful for my wife, family (including church family in this one), church, friends, my job, house, food to eat, our vehicles (yes, plural), clothing, water to drink and bathe with, heating and air conditioning and so many more things that it would take me several posts to list.
God has been very gracious to me, so it makes it "easy" to be thankful. But I sometimes wonder and meditate on if I would still be as thankful if I were not as fortunate as I currently am. Would I still be thankful if I lived in a part of the world where food was scarce, dangers were at every turn, persecution was the norm? I would like to think that I would be, but it also gives me more respect for those brothers and sisters that are in those conditions. My picture shows the line at the local Old Navy, that we stood in for about 20 minutes tonight to buy some sale items. That was inconvenience to us, to stand in a line to buy clothes that we didn't need, with money that we have abundance of.
The Church needs to pray for those that are less fortunate than we are. The ones that are spat upon for attending a church service or who are beaten for proclaiming Christ as their Lord. Then again, maybe they are, right now, praying for us, that we may have a desperate dependence on God that us "fortunate" ones lack so much. These that we see as "needy" are he ones that truly put all trust in God for everything and we "fortunate" ones put our faith in our own selves and bank accounts. In that respect I would say they are the fortunate ones and we are the needy. I pray that God gives me that trust and dependent spirit He has given those dear brothers and sisters.
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