Wednesday, November 14, 2007
In the novel, "I Heard the Owl Call My Name", Margaret Craven tell of a young minister, Mark Brian, who is sent by a bishop to a remote parish of Kwakiutl Indians in British Columbia. The Indians, he is told, do not have a word for thank you. But Brian soon finds that these people have exceptional generosity. Instead of saying thank you, it is their custom to return every favor with a favor of their own. They don't say thank you, they do their thanks.
As the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony faced their second winter in 1621, they had much for which to be thankful. Their efforts to raise barley and peas had been disappointing, and they would have faced starvation had it not been for an Indian named Squanto. Squanto helped the pilgrims raise 20 acres of corn and aided them in keeping peace with neighboring tribes. Governor William Bradford called Squanto a "special instrument of God." So when it came time to celebrate the harvest and thank God, Governor Bradford sent a message to Chief Massasoit, inviting the Indians to whom they were indebted. Massasoit brought 90 men with him, and they celebrated for three days. Squanto, who spoke English, helped the Pilgrims and the Indians communicate. Food and drink were the language of this thanksgiving festival. They enjoyed it to the fullest. I suppose you could say Governor Bradford did his thanks.
I'm wondering, if we had no word in our vocabulary for thank you, would we do a better job of communicating our gratitude? I wonder if we would do our thanksgiving.
We have much for which to thank God and most of the time we're good at verbalizing our thanksgiving. Is there a way to show our thanks to God? Can we do thanksgiving to God that would bring Him glory? I believe that is what the psalmist had in mind when he wrote, "How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?" (Psalm 116:12). There's no way to repay the Lord, right? Can we show Him thanks, though? The verses that follow verse 12 reveal to us how we can do our thanks to God.
As the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony faced their second winter in 1621, they had much for which to be thankful. Their efforts to raise barley and peas had been disappointing, and they would have faced starvation had it not been for an Indian named Squanto. Squanto helped the pilgrims raise 20 acres of corn and aided them in keeping peace with neighboring tribes. Governor William Bradford called Squanto a "special instrument of God." So when it came time to celebrate the harvest and thank God, Governor Bradford sent a message to Chief Massasoit, inviting the Indians to whom they were indebted. Massasoit brought 90 men with him, and they celebrated for three days. Squanto, who spoke English, helped the Pilgrims and the Indians communicate. Food and drink were the language of this thanksgiving festival. They enjoyed it to the fullest. I suppose you could say Governor Bradford did his thanks.
I'm wondering, if we had no word in our vocabulary for thank you, would we do a better job of communicating our gratitude? I wonder if we would do our thanksgiving.
We have much for which to thank God and most of the time we're good at verbalizing our thanksgiving. Is there a way to show our thanks to God? Can we do thanksgiving to God that would bring Him glory? I believe that is what the psalmist had in mind when he wrote, "How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?" (Psalm 116:12). There's no way to repay the Lord, right? Can we show Him thanks, though? The verses that follow verse 12 reveal to us how we can do our thanks to God.
- Verse 13 - We can lift up His salvation so others can see it.
- Verse 14 - We can keep the promises we make to God.
- Verse 16 - We can serve the Lord in freedom.
- Verse 19 - We can bring an attitude of gratitude into public worship.
This Thanksgiving, let's not only tell the Lord we're thankful, let's show the Lord we're thankful. Let's do our thanksgiving. Everyday is a new opportunity to live thankful lives before our great and gracious God.
Forever grateful to God,
Pastor Tim
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