Thanksgiving...a celebration borne out of hearts full of thankfulness and gratitude, emanating from spirits of humility and subjection in personal responses to a greater Majesty who has shown unmerited and generous beneficence. Wow! When we think of Thanksgiving in such a fashion, it definitely puts a different “spin”, not only on the holiday, but on the perspective of being thankful. Yet, Biblically, this is the concept of thanksgiving. It is understanding who we are in the light of who He is as God, that the good gifts we’ve been given are not a result of our own hard work, but, rather, a result of His generosity toward us.
This is especially true to those of us who call ourselves, “Christians”. We of all people should rightly understand this concept of thanksgiving. It is based on the principle of “grace”, the unmerited favor of Almighty God, the very thing upon which our salvation is founded. Without His grace, we would be headed to a literal and actual Hell on a fast track, clueless as to the eternal ramifications, enjoying the pleasures and the scenery all along the way! However, because of the intervening love and grace of God, He “called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light” (rf. I Peter 2:9). He then continues in His grace to mold us and make us into the image of Christ (rf. Romans 8:29), the theological process that we know as sanctification, all of which is accomplished because of His work in us and not by any works which originate within ourselves (rf. Ephesians 2:8-9). Thus, we should be thankful.
As the Apostle Paul testifies in Ephesians 5, Jesus is making us, as individual believers, into one Body, His Church. While doing so, He is also purifying us, cleansing us, and preparing us to be presented eventually before Him as a bride before the groom at a Jewish wedding (rf. vs. 27). This is one of the reasons why we go through hard and difficult times individually. We are a part of the corporate “dross-lifting” process, when heat is brought to bear on the metal to relieve it from its impurities as they rise to the top and are scraped away. If we are truly members of His Church, we will endure this time and again while here on earth until we either die and enter into His Presence or are alive and join Him at His return at which time His Church is officially presented to Him clean and holy.
Why bring this up in the context of Thanksgiving? Well, notice how, according to the Apostle Paul, the Church is “to be subject to Christ...in everything” (rf. Ephesians 5:24) because “Christ...is the head of the Church” (rf. 5:23). The Church as well as every member of the Church (i.e. every believer in Christ) should be thankful for their individual salvation and, out of their gratitude, submissive to His Lordship and Headship in every area of their lives. However, many professed “Christians” today believe that Jesus is the one who is subject to them and to their desires, ideas, beliefs, etc. It is definitely a case of “the tail wagging the dog”. Let me give you an example.
In a recent advertisement for a new book, You Lost Me, by David Kinneman (co-author of UnChristian), the following quotes were given as examples by young people leaving the Church and their reasons why:
“I knew from church that I couldn’t believe in both faith and science, so that was it. I didn’t believe in God anymore.”—Mike
“When I write lyrics that not every Christian agrees on, I get hammered. What am I supposed to be using my talents for?”—Sam
Both of these quotes are designed to draw out emotional responses from the reader that will help you identify with those quoted. However, look beyond the emotions to the deep issues underneath. In both cases, Mike and Sam’s comments betray a belief that the Church is designed to dance to the tune of those who make up its constituency or, even worse, to adapt to the culture so that, in the first case, “science” (i.e. what is taught as fact in government schools) should be compatible with “faith” (i.e. Mike’s perception of Christianity) so as not to make one feel uncomfortable and, in Sam’s case, there should be no objective “Christian” standard against which lyrics should be judged so that anyone can write anything so everyone’s “giftedness” can be practiced with no limitations.
Again, how does this relate to Thanksgiving? Each of the above cases represents the reverse of what should be the proper attitude as followers of Christ. To cultivate thankfulness, we must practice submission and humility to Christ as individual believers and as His Church. We must remove ourselves permanently from the idea that Jesus and His Church exist to serve our individual interests and desires as well as what is popular or what is viewed as normative within the surrounding culture. Like the first entry in the Shorter Catechism states, “the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” We were created for God’s use and glory not visa-versa. The sooner we learn that truth, understand it, and practice it, the sooner we will grasp the true nature of thankfulness. Once gained, then Thanksgiving as a holiday will possess its full meaning in our hearts.
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