{NOTE: This post is part of a 4 Post Blog: Part 1 – George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation; Part 2 – Thanksgiving Day Becomes a National Holiday; Part 3 – Thanksgiving Day: A Celebration in Decline; Part 4 – Thinking Biblically: Give Thanks to God.}
{PART 4 of 4} Interpreting Holy Scripture correctly in its own circumstances is gaining biblical knowledge. Understanding how biblical knowledge applies to you in your circumstances is gaining biblical insight for daily living. Truly living out those biblical insights is biblical wisdom. Lord, give us the wisdom to be thankful to YOU.
Biblical Knowledge. When I think about the changes in the Thanksgiving Proclamations between 1789 (George Washington), 1863 (Abraham Lincoln) and 2023 (Joseph Biden), I can’t help but think about what God said to the Kingdom of Judah through the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah – the weeping prophet – was to warn Judah of coming judgement (Exile in Babylon) because of its idolatry – like an adulteress wife or rebellious children. The poignant question is asked in Jeremiah 2:5: “Thus says the Lord: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?””
Biblical Insight. I ask myself, “Have we, as the American Nation, acted in a similar way to that of Judah? Have we found some “wrong” in God that we have gone far from Him? Are we pursuing things that are worthless and thus becoming worthless ourselves?” I have always believed that our calendar and our checkbook are sober reminders of who are “gods” (our idols) truly are. But I also believe that our national discourse (the American psyche) is also reflective of our cultural idolatry. I see Romans 1:21 as being particularly insightful to the change in our thinking as a country: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
Biblical Wisdom. The Bible has ample passages on the importance of gratitude and thankfulness (e.g., Psalm 136:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 5:18). We are to give thanks to the LORD and to give thanks in all circumstances. We are to be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:17). And, when we are doers of the word – when we give thanks to the LORD and give thanks in all circumstances – we are like a wise man who builds his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24-25).
Are we as individuals, are we as a family, are we as a country …. building our house on the solid rock or on sinking sand? This Thanksgiving – and at all times and in all circumstances – let us remember to give our sincere thanks to the only one who is truly worthy of our gratitude: The Lord God Almighty. For, every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17-18). Especially, the gift of His Son (John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 9:15). Lord, give us the wisdom to be thankful to YOU.
