THANKSGIVING
By
the time you read this, Thanksgiving will once again be history. As
I consider that thought, expressing it as "history" has a
regrettable ring to it. Since when should the giving of thanks be a
matter of the past?
Should a day in our lives pass without the acknowledgment of the
rich blessings we enjoy?
When
the Pilgrims settled into their newfound home, it was appropriate for
them to set apart a day of thanksgiving. The sparing of their lives
on the long and unpleasant voyage, their safe landing at Plymouth
Rock, their being befriended by the indians and the sustenance which
had been freely shared by those native residents that welcomed them -
all of these circumstances which led to their ultimate colonization -
were worthy of much thanksgiving. Their long-sought freedom did not
come without cost. Many died, never to enjoy with family and friends
this feast in celebration of their blessings. Was there any sadness?
As surely as there had been trial and suffering and death - there
was sadness. Was there any joy? Their giving of thanks is clear
testimony to their joy.
Abraham
and his family were also pilgrims in a strange land. Of him it is
said that "he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign
country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him
of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has
foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (Heb. 11:9) Their
lives were associated with suffering and disappointment as is common
to us all. However, their faith sustained them as the focus of
"things not seen." Of them it is therefore said, "These
all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen
them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that
they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say
such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland." (Heb.
11:13-14)
We
see a much different picture in the lives of the Israelites who had
escaped Egyptian bondage and was on the threshold of entering the
land of promise. Unlike Abraham, whose vision looked beyond the
moment and focused on the eternal promise, the freed Israelites
failed to see beyond the bleak picture of ten faithless spies who
expressed doubt in that which God had promised. Their reaction tells
the story of their lack of faith. "Then all the congregation
lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.
And all the children of Israel murmered
against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, 'If
only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in
this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by
the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would
it not be better for us to return to Egypt?'" (Num. 14:1-3)
Stephen spoke of their attitude and disobedience in this way; "...And
in
their hearts
they turned back to Egypt." (Acts 7:39)
The
resulting years of their wandering in the wilderness were filled with
complaining. Paul urges us to learn not to "murmur, as some of
them also murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer." (1
Cor. 10:10) As they continually murmured in complaint of their
immediate plight, they failed to consider their blessings along the
way. Upon their arrival in Moab, before finally entering the land of
promise, Moses reminded them of their past experience. "You
have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of
Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land- the
great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great
wonders. Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes
to see and ears to hear, to this very day. And I have led you forty
years in the wilderness. Your
clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out
on your feet."
(Deut. 29:2-5)
The
contrast between Abraham and those Israelites is obvious. While both
were wanderers, and neither obtained the physical promises of
inherited soil, they were diametrically opposed in their attitudes.
Abraham looked beyond the moment, while the Isralites could not
see beyond it. When Moses told them that God had not given them "a
heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear" (Deut.
29:4), it reminds us of Paul's quoting Isaiah as he addressed the
unbelieving Jews in Rome. "Go to this people and say: 'Hearing
you will hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you will see, and
not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown dull. Their
ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they
should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should
understand with their heart and turn, so that I should heal them.'"
(Acts 29:26-27)
We
should not misunderstand that Israel's inability to see and hear and
have a receptive heart was the fault of God. On the contrary, it was
a matter of their choice by virtue of the fact that they had allowed
their hearts to become "dull" (unfeeling or uncaring), and
they had closed their own eyes, resulting in their inability to see
the blessings of God's care. In so doing, they failed to see beyond
the moment, reinforced their faithlessness in their continual
murmuring, and became thankless and miserable.
How
richly blessed we are! But if our conception of such blessings do
not go beyond the abundance of the physical bounty that we enjoy, we
too are failing to look beyond the moment. While we may be very
comfortable
pilgrims, we must not fail to be mindful of the incomparable eternal
blessings that await those who look beyond this
life, as well as the supreme sacrifice in Christ who has made that
promise possible. It is all too easy to become "dull" in
heart and become "blind" to the important things of life.
When that happens, we will become unthankful.
There
is such irony in the fact that the day following Thanksgiving has
become the busiest shopping day of the year. As people make a mad
dash for the stores in their "buying frenzy", is there any
rememberance of heavenly treasures, or are we caught up in the
moment? Hear the words of David; "Make a joyful shout to the
Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His
presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who
has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of
His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His
courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the
Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all
generations." (Psm. 100)
-
Gary V. Womack - November 2003