Thankful Hearts
There is a song we typically hear each November and December with the lyrics, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” For a guy from California, I have often sneered at that song because of how I feel about the weather. I mean how can it be wonderful when I am freezing to death?! But then I think about the kinds of things I typically witness at this time of year like what I encountered this past Saturday.
As I passed by a local church building, there were some teenagers outside the building holding signs and inviting anyone to a free turkey dinner. My heart was touched! All were invited! I didn’t need the meal so, of course, I didn’t enter. I will be having Thanksgiving with my family. But if I had no one to share Thanksgiving with I would have certainly accepted the offer. I appreciate hearts that are so thankful that no conditions are placed on the offerings they put before others.
I began to think about the lyrics of that song and I decided that they are pretty accurate. People are usually kinder this time of year. People are usually more cognizant of the poor and disadvantaged and homeless this time of year. People are usually more giving and free with the sharing of their blessings this time of year. People are usually more forgiving, more reflective, and more self-examining this time of year.
In the Bible, we read of God instituting for the Israelites the feast of ingatherings. Sometimes this is also known as the harvest festival, the feat of the tabernacles, or the feast of booths. It was always celebrated near the end of the year as the crops were coming in. During this 8-day feast, the Jews were commanded to make shelters out of the branches of trees and dwell in them. It was to remind them to be thankful not only for the harvest, but also for the time when God delivered them from slavery in Egypt and took care of them while they lived in similar type shelters in the wilderness for 40 years. The Lord wanted the people to remember His provisions and be thankful. To God, a thankful heart is a beautiful heart. A thankful heart can be shaped to love like God loves and to give as God gives.
What I saw this past Saturday in the hearts of those teenagers was true thanksgiving. Because true thanks is more than just being appreciative for what we have received. Thanks is giving, thus the word! Giving is actually what qualifies us as being thankful at all.
I wish we didn’t have to wait for the most wonderful time of the year to be thankful. Just imagine what the world would be like if we were all thankful to God on a regular basis. There would never be many seasons or days or even moments that couldn’t be described as pretty wonderful.
“Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” – Psalm 107:8
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AUTHOR: Jeremiah Tatum
