Do you have plans for Thanksgiving?
Like me, you have probably been asked this question a few times by now.
For many, Thanksgiving can be summarized with great food, gathering with family and friends, watching a football match, or watching the crazy huge balloons of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
No matter what your plans for Thanksgiving are, they may include at some point meditating on what are you thankful for.
Yeah. What are you thankful for?
But before going through a list, I want you to go a step further.
Ponder these two questions instead:
What are you thankful for? So what are you going to do about it?
Do you notice the difference?
The first question shows only a state of “being” grateful—an appreciation of one’s particular blessings and reasons that move or warm one’s heart.
The other question involves an action as result of being thankful.
You see, thanksgiving is much more that just being thankful.
Thanksgiving is an attitude. It is a response of a thankful heart that acknowledges the grace of God in one’s life.
And that response results in even more blessing!
Let me explain…
You may already know the story in Luke 17:11-19. This is the passage about the 10 lepers that were healed by Jesus while he was on the way to Jerusalem, between Samaria and Galilee.
These were the 10 lepers that came to Jesus calling out for mercy.
Let’s stop here for a minute.
We are not talking about just sick people here. We are talking about lepers. This was a bad word in the time of Jesus.
Lepers were outcasts. Unclean. Despised.
They were to remain isolated from the community, from their families, from their loved ones. They were not able to work for a living. They were forbidden to approach people.
But these lepers longed for an encounter with Jesus. They knew about his goodness and compassion. So they approached Jesus with close enough distance to be heard when calling out loud for mercy.
Jesus saw them and sent them to the priests. By the account, then we know that on their way to the priests, the lepers were healed.
Note that Jesus didn’t heal them right away.
Jesus sent them to the priests. At the time, the priests were the only ones with authority to provide public validation that a leper has been healed, and accept this person back to the society.
Jesus not only healed the lepers as they followed his command in faith. Jesus also brought them back into fellowship with the community and with their families by the public validation of the priests. He took their isolation, their hopelessness and despair away.
So what?
What does this have to do with thanksgiving being more than just being thankful?
Here’s what comes next...
Out of ten lepers, only one came back in gratitude and thanksgiving. He came back and worshiped Jesus, and then Jesus sent him back with his blessing.
If you asked me, I don’t think that the other nine lepers were jerks or ungrateful.
They were probably so busy being happy for their healing and their coming back into community, that they didn’t take the time to stop to go back to the Healer, and thank Him. I’m sure they were very thankful for what happened. But that was it.
Only one took the time to come back in praise, gratitude and thanksgiving. And with that, he was sent home with the Lord’s blessing in his life.
See?
Thanksgiving is not just about “feeling” thankful. It goes beyond counting your blessings.
Thanksgiving is an action. A discipline. It is a commitment that compels us to go and reconnect with our redeemer. The one who cleansed us and reconciled us with God.
Thanksgiving compels us to acknowledge every day God’s goodness, grace and his lordship in our lives, no matter the circumstances.
Thanksgiving leads us to a wonderful act of praise and worship. And worship in turn results in a beautiful transaction of blessing.
“15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Hebrews 13:15-16)
Let’s continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise. Let’s continue to do good and to share the goodness of God with others in need of that experience.
What are you thankful for?
So what are you doing about it?