Well, we’re just a few short days from the annual day where we gather together for the purpose of giving thanks.  We’ll remember our American traditions, see family and friends we’ve not seen in a while, eat way too much food, and hopefully catch a nap somewhere along the way.  Truly Thanksgiving is a glorious day!

But more than just being a national holiday, Thanksgiving should be a state of mind.  In fact, for the follower of Christ, giving thanks is a central mindset.  The Apostle Paul asks one simple question that gets to the heart of giving thanks in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “What do you have that you did not receive?”  This rhetorical question seeks to drive us to answer, “Absolutely nothing!”  And that’s so true.  Everything you have has been given to you by the One from whom all blessings flow.  That breath you just took was a gift from God.  That home you live in, those clothes on your back, all the people you hold dear—all are gifts from God.  Your salvation—especially your salvation—is a gift from God.

When we get to the point that we realize that everything we have is by grace, then we are ready to really give thanks.  A self-made man need not give thanks, but a grace-made man should never cease in thanks-giving.  Dear one, you are a grace-made man or woman.  Therefore, may thanks never stop being lifted up to our great and giving God.  To be a Christian is to be a thanksgiver.  So, be a thanksgiver Thursday and every day!