Thank Who? – What Does This Mean?

Encore Post: Over the last week, American television personalities have been engaging in a kind of ritual. All of the hosts tell their audiences the things for which they are thankful. The typical items on their lists are: family, friends, health, home and other goods. One thing is nearly always missing: whom should they thank for these blessings?

The natural thing for people, as sinful creatures, to do is to assume that the blessings they have are theirs because they are good people. If you do good things, then God will reward you with good things. In the musical Sound of Music, the character Maria von Trapp sings:

Nothing comes from nothing
Nothing ever could
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good

In the eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, the principle of karma is based on this idea: the good you do will return to you as a blessing and the evil you do as a curse. The Pharisees were of the same opinion. If you had a blessing, you must be especially righteous, and if you suffered from a disease, you must have sinned. In a parable Jesus told, the Pharisee’s prayer of thanksgiving is more of an act of self-congratulation. (Luke 18:9-14) Sinners are inclined to think they are entitled to their blessings and so, if anyone is to be thanked, it is ourselves.

Yet, the reality is that very few of the things we have are of our own doing. The people in our family, community, church family, and nation labored and sacrificed much so that we can have the opportunities to work, play, and enjoy our place in the world. Behind them are still countless others, and ultimately, to God himself, who made us and all things. All this comes to us because of God’s love for us and his mercy. Because after all, our sinful nature is in rebellion against God. We’ve forfeited our right to live, much less live forever in his presence or receive anything from his mercy. We deserve to die and be cast into hell.

Yet God loved us before he made the world, and in his grace decided not to destroy us, but to save us, and, in the end, fully restore us. He did this at the cost of the suffering and death of his son, Jesus. In his death, he destroyed death and, in his resurrection, opened the kingdoms of heaven to all believers. Our natural response to the grace is trust in his promises and, in thanksgiving, to him for the countless blessings in this life and in heaven, kept safe for us. So, we always give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, and his mercy endures forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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