BiblicalInsights.net

Thanksgiving is a present state that draws upon past events.  In remembering past acts of God, Christians pledge to be faithful partners with God in the covenantal relationship in the present. Faithfulness to God (keeping covenant with God) is tied to thanksgiving. Thanksgiving grows out of a consideration of how God’s grace has impacted our lives and transformed them.  God’s grace is a continual flow of His goodness toward His people.  Thanksgiving is also continuous from our hearts to God.  Thanksgiving is a response of the human heart to God’s infinite goodness.
The Past–Our Redemption
First, consider God’s part in our redemption.  “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight” (Col. 1:21-22). We were at one time alienated from God due to our sins.  Yet, now, He hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ.  The past regarding our redemption involves everything that God has done to save us.  Before the world began, God purposed our salvation by Jesus Christ and in one body (Eph. 2:16; 3:10-11).  The eternal purpose of God was foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament who gave us over 300 Messianic prophecies that were to be fulfilled in the details of the life and death of Jesus.  Jesus came into the world as the result of a miraculous conception which led to His birth in Bethlehem of Judea.  Jesus’ personal and public ministry began when He was of the age of thirty and was inaugurated by His baptism in the Jordan River by John the baptist.  He taught as no one had ever taught before.  He performed innumerable miracles.  He exemplified the perfect human life. He was crucified, buried and rose again the third day.  On the cross, He shed His blood for the atonement of the sins of human beings.  God loved us and gave us the best of heaven (John 3:16).  God’s grace was manifested in an unspeakable gift (II Cor. 9:15).  His love, mercy and grace made our redemption possible.
Second, consider our faith and obedience to His commands.  When we obey the gospel (Rom. 10:16; II Thess. 1:7-9; Heb. 5:8-9), we are changed.  We are saved.  When we obey the command to repent, we change our hearts and turn away from sin to God.  When we are baptized (immersed in water) into Christ, we are forgiven of our sins by the precious blood of Christ (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38-41; Gal. 3:26-29).  When we obey the gospel, Jesus adds us to His church and we become children of God.  We are reconciled to God.  We are blessed by appropriating God’s grace and standing in His grace.  We must never forget the day of our salvation.  We must never forget the spiritual blessings that have continued to flow to us since that sacred moment.  This reflection upon past events, God’ saving acts and our obedience to the gospel, produces a life of thanksgiving.
The Present–Our Lives in Christ
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Col 2:6-7).  Your past is affecting your present.  Your past redemption affects your present state of thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is not something we do once in a while.  It is a fundamental way of being.  It is a state of being and not just an isolated act accomplished once a year or even several times in a year.  We must abound in thanksgiving as part of “walking in him.”  God has given us an abundance of blessings: abundant hope (Rom. 15:13); abundant comfort (II Cor. 1:5); abundant grace (II Cor. 4:15); and abundant love (Phil. 1:9; I Thess. 3:13; Rom. 5:8-9).  Generous abundance of these spiritual blessings from God produces a heart continually overflowing with thanksgiving.  To live in Him, i.e. Jesus Christ, is to live in holiness.  We are called to holiness through the gospel (I Thess. 4:7) and we imitate God who is holy (Eph. 5:1; I Pet. 1:15-16).  Holiness is tied to thanksgiving.  To live life in the Lord, we must live a life worthy of the calling given to us by Jesus.  We must be worthy of His name by which we are called (Christians).  We must live a life that pleases Him in all things. This involves:  bearing fruit, growing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened, and giving thanks.  To “walk in him” is to “live a life of fullness of consecration to God.” Being (who we are) precedes doing (acts of obedience or faithfulness (keeping covenant).  Our entire life is characterized by oneness with Jesus Christ.  Christianity is something you are and not merely something you do from time to time.  Thanksgiving is an integral part of the Christian life.  Our connection to the past (God’s saving acts and our obedience to the gospel) produces a life of thanksgiving.  The infinite supply of God’s grace to us motivates a continuous flow of gratitude to Him.  Therefore, we live in holiness and overflow with thanksgiving.  Sin against God is the height of ingratitude.  Sin against God makes a mockery of our redemption.  Sin against God involves a breach in the sacred memory of God’s saving acts.  In redemption, we are transformed to live lives that honor and glorify God.  The present life we live in Christ has been made possible by past acts of God whereby we appropriate His grace to ourselves when we obey His commandments.  This past event connects to our present in holiness and thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not something we do once in a while, it is a way of life. It is a state of being that results from being blessed by God’s infinite goodness.