Oh Give Thanks to the LORD

Religious News Article for the Frankenmuth NewsNovember 25, 2009

By Pastor Mark Loest

 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 118:1 ESV)

Perhaps no other holiday –with the exception of the Fourth-of-July, of course –is as an essential part of our national spirit as Thanksgiving Day. It is the most American of holidays.

A classic Yankee holiday, Thanksgiving Day is religious, yet it is not connected to any saint or holy day. It is historical, yet not without myth and misconception. Private citizens are urged to give thanks to God by public proclamation –in accord to the individual dictates of their consciences. It is a national holiday with regional traditions. A whole nation finding itself home to family reunions. Its chief purpose is implied by its name, “to give thanks”, yet it is the greatest day (and eve) of excessive culinary (and material) consumption. Its interpreters include historians, Native Americans, Mayflower descendants and preachers –none of which can agree completely.

The idea of giving thanks, however did not originate with the consumer, but with the Creator. God tells us we are to show Him our gratitude. But what kind of thanks do we show him? Just going through the motions is not enough. Cain learned that, and in his anger over being rejected killed his brother Abel. Sin separates us from God and makes us ungrateful and self-serving.

Yet God’s people learned to give thanks. Noah responded to God’s protecting the eight lives on the ark from the flood by making an offering. Centuries later, Israel was commanded to make sacrifices which included Thank Offerings. The Psalmist declares in the 118th Psalm, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!”

The New Testament shows us Christ always giving thanks. And the Apostle Paul exhorts us to give thanks in all things. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

As people of God then, we give Him thanks for our bodies and souls; for the gift of faith in Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life. We are thankful for the blessings of family, church and community; for earthly bread (all that we need to support body and life); for authorities and protection.

None of these necessitate turkey, dressing, potatoes, sauce and pie, or football and black Friday sales. But even the blessings of Thanksgiving Day that are tied to our family and national traditions make the holiday all the more enjoyable. And in these we are also well reminded that “every good and every perfect gift comes from above.” (James 1:17)