After The Thanks
First and foremost, let me say I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It is a wonderful holiday…still pure and hasn’t really changed that much. I hope we all had the chance to say thanks…thanks to God for blessings we surely don’t deserve…thanks to friends and family for relationships that make all the difference in our lives.
“Thanks” is a word we don’t hear as much anymore.
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we move on to THE holiday of our
culture. We can only pray that
“thanks” will be a part of that special day, too.
Do
you remember when we were kids and our parents were obsessed with making sure we
were always appreciative for our gifts at Christmas?
Better yet, I seem to recall that same obsession in my own life as I
tried equally hard to instill that same spirit of thankfulness in my own
children. “Wesley…Ryan…what do
you say?” or “Now, go hug
grandma’s neck and tell her thank you…….DO IT NOW!!!”
Wow, those were the good ole days!
While those words were so very beautiful to hear from our children, I think we
were really after something much more important.
What we really want and need in our lives is an attitude of thanks that
comes from our hearts. Remember when
Jesus healed the ten lepers. One
returned to say thanks. Jesus said,
“Only one? Where are the other
nine?” Jesus wanted to hear more
than the words. He wanted to see
thankfulness in their lives. He
wanted their actions to be a response to what they had been given.
And that’s what He wants from us. And
that’s what we want from our kids. When
we’re truly thankful for what we have, the words will come; and they will come
without prodding and begging. They
will come from the heart.
So
as we approach this special time of the year, may we remember, it’s not saying
“thanks” but what comes after the thanks that really matters.
It is because of Christ that we can “be thankful in all things!”
Jesus changes our hearts…and the words come, but most importantly,
after the words, there is a change in our lives.
And the world knows we are thankful!
Thanks be to God!
In Christ,
Billy
PS.
During the month of December, we will be posting devotionals about every
three days, our way of sharing this special season of love in Christ with you.
Thank you for your prayers.