Thankful - Yeah, Yeah, Yeah...

In a few hours we will be officially starting the process of travel to see family for Thanksgiving. As a kid, I never completely got why the holiday was so important to my parents. Now, I start to see it more as a time to be with family without pretense or a bunch of other distractions. One thing is for sure, time just keeps going by faster than I feel like I can keep track of it.

So, I wanted to take a chance to think about what it means to be thankful. I know this may be trite because so many people are tackling the topic of thankfulness in one way or another right now, but I think it still bears reflection. At least for me, this an area I can still improve.

Thankfulness by its nature means we realize the importance of what we have in some sense. It is a reflection which shows gratitude toward someone or something for what is possessed. The thing possessed can be time with family, food, a job, or any other number of things.

But what does it mean to express gratitude? Is merely saying, "Thank You!" verbally or non-verbally enough? On the negative side of things, we have taught our boys saying "sorry" must involve much more than a simple verbal salute to someone else who has been wronged, whether intentionally or not. We have tried to teach them the importance of trying to make things better when a wrong occurs. In a similar way, I wonder if we have shown them the importance of living gratefully when they say "Thank You!"

For the Christian, we often say we are thankful for the work of Christ, but then we get bogged down in the daily slog of a normal life. Shouldn't our life be different if we are truly thankful? To put it differently, all the characteristics of God that we know through Jesus should be manifested in our life through the Spirit. In particular, if God is generous then we live joyfully as generous, thankful, and changed people.

Things to consider if I am thankful this year.
1. People over stuff- God's glory can be celebrated in our graciously sacrificial love. Loving other people naturally outflows from gratefulness.
2. Less is more- when I am thankful I am not covetous, avaricious, or focused primarily on my own needs. I should also become more aware of things like wasteful packaging, useless calories, and mismanagement of my time and energy. Shying away from these things does not make me a better Christian, but it does make me more content when I am full of the love of Christ instead. 
3. God is good, in the midst of my troubles and my sin, God is good. Holiness is not a weapon to be wielded, but a haven to run to in the storms and the good times. God is good. I don't always feel like it, I don't always acknowledge it, but God is good. All other things must be for the glory of God or it is time to realign my priorities.
4. All people, even those with whom I disagree fundamentally, have been created in the image of God. Thankful creates an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with these people.

I want to be more like Jesus, and Thanksgiving has just reminded me of some ways I can seek him more. That's not such a bad thing, is it?