It is good to give thanks for thanksgiving. By this, I don't so much mean the annual observance, but rather the capacity for gratitude formed in humanity by God.
"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord" (Psalm 92:1).
Imagine a world without thanksgiving felt or expressed. No one would understand or be aware of the sacrifice of others to act or give. No sense of appreciation would form in the heart and mind of those benefited by others. No utterance of "thank you" would be heard. Things would be done mechanistically and without warmth, affection, and heart. The image is stark and cold. So much would be missing, including both the Divinity and humanity of our lives.
The creation of the human race by God in His image included the capacity for gratitude. He knew that our personhood would not be complete if we possessed no inclination or ability to give thanks to Him and to other people. Indeed, gratitude is a Divine disposition and expression. The Bible records that during His earthly lifetime, the Lord Jesus Christ frequently expressed thanksgiving to His Father. Doubtless this manifested in space and time a reality that existed in the eternal state of the triune Godhead. The capacity for gratitude and appreciation therefore blesses us with a gift from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the gift of a particularly beautiful aspect of their eternally ancient relationship of perfect love.
We do well to give thanks for thanksgiving. An existence without it would lack much of that which makes life truly life. And for born again believers in the Lord Jesus, the gift is particularly beautiful because our thankful Savior dwells in us to bear the fruit of His grateful heart...
"Because ye are sons, God hath sent for the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father."
(Galatians 4:6)
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