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“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true” (1st Article of the Creed, Luther’s Small Catechism) In the order of things, Thanksgiving is up next. Indeed, thanksgiving is in order. There is always much to be thankful for. Everything that we have is a gift from our Lord. Even the things that we are inclined to view as purely the result of our hard work are, in fact, gifts that the Lord grants to us through the means of employment, talents, abilities, and any other number of situations. Martin Luther’s explanation of the 1st article of the Creed above captures well all the ways that God is gracious toward us as our Father in heaven. We deserve none of these things, and yet, He provides them anyway. During the season of Thanksgiving we are called to think of those gifts; rightfully so. Our thankfulness to the Lord, does not stop at the daily gifts, however. A thankful heart is not just concerned with what the Lord can give us. The Lord grants us these gifts out of His deep and unquenchable love for us. He provides for our needs no matter how great or small because He wants to draw us close to Him. Even when we feel that we are lacking, the Lord continually shows us that His grace is sufficient. From our human perspective, when we give gifts to one another, it is not simply about the gifts themselves. It is about the relationship that we seek to have with one another. Similarly, our Father in heaven loves us as His dear children and grants us gifts because He wants to draw us close. He sent Jesus to be our Savior, to die and to rise so in order to give us life. Not just any life; no, life with Him for eternity. He did it, not because we deserved it, but because of His love. In the same way, the Holy Spirit grants us faith in Jesus by the Word. Then we look around and see that He also brings us into a community of fellow believers, sanctifies us, and keeps us in the one true faith unto life everlasting. So as we consider our thankfulness this year (… and every moment), let’s look to our Triune God Who has provided, provides, and will provide for us in all things needed. |
