Saying “thank you” is the hallmark of a polite society. We teach our children to say “thank you.” The waitress brings us our meal and even if the service was not the greatest, we say, “Thanks!” We even say “thank you” to people who thank us. If someone does something nice for us, we say “thank you!,” especially if that favor was not expected or was done undeservedly.
How much our heavenly Father deserves our thanks not only on Thanksgiving Day, but year around, for He gives us all of His blessings without any merit or worthiness in us. All of His blessings are given undeservedly. This means that the great blessing that He grants is His grace.
Perhaps nothing in this world shows the grace and goodness of the Father better than the fact that He provides blessings for all. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus demonstrates the goodness of the Father by showing that He provides even for those who do not love Him. “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt. 5:45).
Worldlings use the Thanksgiving holiday to tip their hat to God, even though they do not know who He is. Nor do they realize all the blessings that He gives them on this earth. Indeed, they would have nothing were it not for Him. Nor do they realize the greater blessings He would give them if they turned to Him in faith. For if our heavenly Father blesses all people, even unbelievers, surely His own children are blessed with even greater blessings.
The Best Gift Of All
Chief among the blessings that we give thanks for is the gift of God’s Son, the giving of which we’ll celebrate next month. This blessing is the basis of all of the other spiritual blessings that we receive from our Father, as the apostle notes: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32)
It is on account of His Son that the world is declared not guilty of sin and that we, as individuals, have the forgiveness of sins through faith in His Son Jesus. This faith is itself a gift of God, given without any merit or worthiness on our part. This faith joyfully says: “O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever.”
Give thanks to our Father because He has rescued us from the dead, sinful world, and has placed us in His family with our fellow believers. What a miracle of His grace that we are the children of God!
Give thanks to our good Father because He answers the prayers of His children. Whereas the unbeliever can only hope that he gets the things he wants, the believer can approach the Father in faith. The believer can trust that his prayers will be answered, for the Savior promises: ” . . . Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Mt. 7:8).
Give thanks to our good Father because He blesses us not only here in this world, but He promises to bless us with resurrection from the dead and eternal life. There we will enjoy His mercy and blessings forever.
If we leave a tip for the waitress who brings us our coffee, certainly our Father who gives us such great blessings deserves a greater gratuity. Though that would be enough reason to give thank-offerings to God, we have the greater reason. Let the world say “thanks” because they have to.
As for us, our heavenly Father has also blessed us His children with a thankful heart. Such a heart gives thanks not because it has to or not because the calendar says that today is the day to do it. We give thanks with a thankful heart because the believer’s heart delights in giving thanks.
“Thank you” is a hallmark of a believing heart, the fruit of a heart that knows that no amount of thanksgiving could do justice to even a fraction of the grace shown the believer by the Lord God.
Thank you, God, for all of Your blessings, especially for Your Son, by whom we have the forgiveness of all our sins and eternal life.
–Pastor Joel Fleischer