Give Thanks!

   Give thanks.  Say grace.  Pray.  Give the blessing.  Offer thanks.  Say a prayer…  There are many expressions referring to the manner in which we share our conversations with God in corporate settings, among family gatherings, or at home around the dinner table.

   The best expression that I have encountered is the phrase my dad would say every day for as long as I can remember… “Let’s return thanks.”

   To return something means to relinquish it, to give back, to restore it to its rightful owner.  The opposite of returning something would be to keep it, to hold on, to stash, to store or stockpile, to put it on the shelf, to file or to cling to it.

   What is thanks?  It is not an object, yet its presence transforms its host.  It has no form, yet it shapes the mind it occupies.  It weights nothing, yet its absence is too heavy to bear.  It earns nothing, yet its benefits are priceless.  It has no face or outward appearance, yet it is revealed through the countenance of its tenant.   It has no life of its own, yet it is a conduit for fullness of life.

   Thanks, alone, is nothing.  To thank infers the presence of a giver and a receiver.  To say, “Thanks!” is to say, “I thank you.” 

   What does it mean to give?  To give is the act of providing, of offering, of bestowing, of donating, of imparting, of transferring, of handing something over to someone else.  In order to give something to someone, we need to begin by owning it or producing it.  In contrast, when we return something to someone, it initially belonged to someone else.

   Is it wrong to “give thanks”? 

   God’s Word instructs and encourages us…

                “Give thanks to the Lord” ~I Chronicles 16:7

                “It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord.” ~Psalm 92:1

                “Do not cease giving thanks…” ~Ephesians 1:16

                “Always to give thanks…”~II Thessalonians 1:3

                … and countless similar references throughout the Scriptures.

   So what’s the point?

   We cannot conjure thankfulness from scratch.  The act of thanksgiving is sourced in God alone.  He is the Creator, the Beginning, the Initiator of all things.  All that we have, therefore all that we have to give, originated with Him.  Any act of giving on our part is, in reality, returning to Him what is rightfully His.  On the contrary, not giving thanks could be described as keeping, hiding away, or stashing what was meant to be returned to its rightful Owner. 

   Could it be that to not give thanks, without any intention of returning it, would be considered stealing?

   This concept of thanks, of thanksgiving, of returning thanks, offers entrance into a deeper realm than what our capacity of understanding can provide.  It is sobering. 

   Thanksgiving is holy… a sacred act of yielding, of submission, of acknowledging our position in respect to God's.

   As we gather to celebrate Thanksgiving, let’s return thanks to Him together.

~ae

"The Lord is near.

Be anxious for nothing,

but in everything by prayer and supplication,

with thanksgiving,

let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God,

which surpasses all comprehension,

will guard your hearts 

and your minds

in Christ Jesus."

                                 ~ Philippians 4:5-7