What is thanksgiving?

Today is Thanksgiving Day in America. A day when many families get together and celebrate a holiday. A day of food, fellowship, football games on television, and a day of searching the web and the newspaper to discover what will be on the best sale on the day after Thanksgiving.

And as I pause today to thank God for his blessings and others for their love and kindness, I wonder if I can define “thanksgiving”. 

Does giving thanks mean that we deny any difficulties which might be in our lives at the present time? Does it mean that we are thankful even for the very difficulties themselves?

Well, Christians throughout the ages have wrestled with those questions.

You see, it is easy to be thankful when life is good, things are pleasant, you are at peace in all your relationships, your relatives are doing well, your church is growing, there is money in your bank account, and your body is healthy. But we know life does not always give us that Polaroid moment.  So how do we give thanks, in truth and without religious frameworks which deny the reality of our lives, in those tough times?

Paul was an apostle during New Testament times, and he wrote to the church at Thessalonica and talked about thanksgiving, saying…

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  Read more...