2/16/13

THANKSGIVING by Gary Womack


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