GN Commentary: November 25, 2009 - Thanksgiving: More than Turkey and Football!
Thanksgiving is about more than turkeys and football. It's a day dedicated to our Lord and Creator. As we approach the holiday this year, let's remember and acknowledge Him, and His role in our national blessings.
Related Resources
The
Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
What is the origin of the Thanksgiving holiday? What biblical lessons should
we learn from it?
Thanksgiving
Day: More Than Just Being Thankful
Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday every November. Perhaps
this is the appropriate season to wonder if there is a difference between
being thankful and giving thanks.
When I came to the United States a number of years ago, I was surprised
and pleased to be invited into the home of some friends in late November.
I knew little about Thanksgiving then, having just arrived from England,
where we had no such national celebration.
What an enjoyable day it was! Lots of food, friends and football! I
delighted in this very American national celebration, quite unlike anything
I had ever done in my native land.
At first, it seemed to be a day just to stuff oneself, like the turkey
on the table. But as time went by, I began to learn about the rich and
meaningful history of Thanksgiving Day.
First observed in Plymouth Colony in 1621, Thanksgiving was a day for
the pilgrims to thank God for having protected and provided for them
in those perilous times. The day was later proclaimed by President George
Washington, in the year 1789. Listen to these words of America's
first president:
WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence
of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits,
and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both
Houses of Congress have… requested me "to recommend to
the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER,
to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and
signal favors of Almighty God…"
NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH
DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States
to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent
author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be...
What's striking about that first Thanksgiving proclamation is
the nation's readiness to acknowledge the Creator, and to dedicate
a day to Him. Even in 1863, over seventy years later, the sixteenth
president, Abraham Lincoln, was unabashed in his gratitude to Almighty
God, as he set a date for the celebration. Here are some of Lincoln's
words:
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled
with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these
bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget
the source from which they come, others have been added, which are
of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and
soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful
providence of Almighty God… No human counsel hath devised
nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the
gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in
anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. .. I
do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United
States… to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November
next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father
who dwelleth in the Heavens.
The United States of 1863 was going through times of great crisis,
just as we are now, in the year 2009. Yet now we hesitate even to mention
God in public, much less to request His help in our national trials.
It would today serve us well to remember Lincoln's words, and
to make them our own.
Thanksgiving is about more than turkeys and football. It's a
day dedicated to our Lord and Creator. As we approach the holiday this
year, let's remember and acknowledge Him, and His role in our
national blessings.
