A Reason for Thanksgiving

 

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…”

—Hebrews 12:28

On this Tanksgiving Day here in the United States, please allow me to ask you a question. Do you routinely make at least a mental list of all the things for which you feel thankful? If you concentrate, I’ll bet you can rather easily develop quite a long list. Most of your items likely relate to your current circumstances. And, that’s certainly understandable.

Let me very respectfully suggest that we expand our list by considering some of the wonders that lie ahead of us, both in this life, and perhaps more importantly, in the life to come. We too often become so rooted in our current lives that we fail to consider the thankfulness we should feel for the life that waits for us just over the horizon.

The writer to the Hebrew Christians understood this tendency. It certainly existed in the first century just as much as it does today. Notice what he wrote in Hebrews 12:28:

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…

You see, absolutely nothing can shake the new kingdom. The fulfillment in all its glory of the Kingdom of Christ will stand, no matter what may happen.

That gives us a strong reason for thanksgiving—thanksgiving to God who has chosen us to reside for eternity in His Kingdom and thanksgiving to our brothers and sisters in Christ who will share with us in that eternal home.

As this Thanksgiving Day begins, let us raise our voices, giving thanks to God for all that He has so graciously given us in this life, and also for the wonderful life that awaits us in eternity.

 

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