This is from an article that I wrote for the Carey Baptist Church newsletter while I was in India. I know that our Thanksgiving/Holiday season is still a few months away but I hope that it can be profitable in preparing us mentally and spiritually for these occasions.
By
Scott Newman
“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High… The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”
-Psalm 50:14+23
In my home town, as the summer months give way to the cooler air and brighter colours of autumn a festive sprit begins to be felt among all the people. Then, as the calendar rolls on into the month of November, one can notice that all the markets and places of business begin to be decorated with the gorgeous hues of fallen leaves and cornucopias filled with delicious food. The holiday of Thanksgiving is then celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. Thanksgiving is not just an American holiday, many people from all over the world celebrate Thanksgiving during the month of November when, traditionally, the farmers would finish gathering all their crops and villages would gather to celebrate the bountiful harvest and to praise God for His abundant provision for them. This time of year has, for many cultures, become a time to reflect on the blessings that have been bestowed on them during the past year.
In reflecting on the idea of Thanksgiving as a cultural event in many parts of the world, I began to wonder what the idea of Thanksgiving should mean for the Christian. There are many people all over the world who have not repented of their sins and live in peaceful fellowship with Christ who set aside time to be thankful for what they have. In my home town, often the Thanksgiving celebrations of the Christians differ very little from those who have no commitment to Christ whatsoever. This began to puzzle me as I thought about it. It seems that the motivations and the ways that at Christian gives thanks should be much different than the ways a non-Christian would give thanks. But how should this be? As I reflected on this apparent dilemma, I remembered Psalm 50; one of my favorite Psalms. I believe that a little reflection on what the Psalmist, Asaph, has to tell us here will change the way that many of us view and practice thanksgiving.
Asaph begins this psalm with a marvelous statement of the greatness and glory of our God. He speaks of God’s power in ruling creation, the light and perfection of His beauty, and His holy hatred towards sin. Then, God Himself begins to speak and condemns the Israelites for their sacrifices which they were offering to Him saying, “I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. ‘If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.’” God is rebuking the Israelites for thinking that they were somehow helping Him out with their sacrifices. As the creator and sustainer of the Universe, everything belongs to God and so, when the Israelites would come and offer sacrifices, they were offering to God things that already belonged to Him. So then, if God already owned these things, then why would He command the Israelites to bring sacrifices to Himself? God enlightens us as to His purposes and desires for sacrifice saying, “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
What God requires from His people are hearts that are united to fear His name and that glorify Him in every aspect of daily life. It is from a heart that stands in awe of the beauty and greatness of God that true thanksgiving will pour out in a pure stream of thanksgiving. This is why the Psalmist speaks of the greatness of God in verses 1-3 of Psalm 50; because in order to have a heart that is thankful to God, we must first understand Him accurately. The essence of the glory of God is the display of His perfect and awesome character for the world to see. For a Christian to see and accurately understand God is the most joyful, soul-satisfying experience that is possible in this Universe. When a soul begins to taste of this heavenly joy and satisfaction, its life is radically transformed and it begins to desire nothing else than to praise God for His glory! And it is as this praise comes from the heart of a Christian that God’s glory is proclaimed in the world and He is mightily glorified in that. Biblically, this is what thanksgiving should look like; it should be a heart that is taken captive by the wonders of God’s grace towards us and His Sovereign Majesty and then simply wonders that God should choose to make these things abound towards us.
However, what I have often seen among Christians is that they begin to give thanks to God simply for the benefits and material things which He has graciously given to them. It is right that we should seek to praise and thank God for these things but it is often the case that this kind of thanksgiving replaces what we see God desiring from us in Psalm 50. The thanksgiving which He desires is a heart which has been overwhelmed by the greatness of God which saved it and desires nothing more than to sing His praises. Whenever we begin to praise God for His gifts rather than for the joy of who He is, this praise and thanksgiving becomes drudgery and the focus is shifted from the God who lovingly bestows His gifts in order to make Himself known to man who receives the gifts. The greatest delight then is then experienced by the one who has been moved by God to have the joy in His presence overflow in thanksgiving and praise.
This year, as Christians, let us ask that God would allow us to see Him and taste fellowship with Him from His Word in such as way that our thanksgiving flows out of us as the overflow of the incredible joy that we have in Him. The motivations for living our lives and the way we live our lives as Christians should be radically different from the world and this Biblical idea of thanksgiving is simply another way in which our lives, particularly during this time of year, should stand in such contrast to the world that they stand up and take notice of the difference that our delight in the greatness of God has brought into our lives.
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