Thankful For The Son

Thanksgiving always brings about thoughts of good home cooked food and being around relatives you might not get to see often. At least that is what I think about when I hear Thanksgiving. Growing up we didn’t go to church very often so thankfulness or being thankful for things wasn’t ever in my mind until we got to the meal and someone prayed or said grace before the meal. Even then I was just ready to get that part over with so we could get to eating.

My family dynamic growing up was different. My parents were divorced in my teens so I rebelled pretty good at that time. So the Thanksgiving meals were one side and then the other for as long as I could remember. I especially enjoyed the Mexican side , my mom’s side, because we didn’t have the traditional turkey and sides. We had Mole, Mole is a term used in Mexican cuisine to describe a type of sauce. The word mole is pronounced MOE-lay. I love it and the rice, refried beans and tortillas that came along with it. It was a tradition on that side of the family for a lot of years. I’ve made it a few times on my own but it never tastes the same, sad face. It was the tradition of the meal and being with family that I enjoyed and miss now that my grandmother and mother are gone. I guess it is a tradition that I can bring back but I’ve never really given that much thought until now.

But back to my real reason for this article, thankfulness. Now that I’m older and wiser, allegedly, I see why the younger me only thought about the food and why my older relatives took much care in trying to keep that tradition alive and going. My older relatives knew the importance of getting together as a family and sharing stories to bring about a sense of unity. We see this same thing happen in churches today.

In churches today pastors seek to do basically the same thing. Bringing people together around God’s word is how that happens. It unifies the congregation and keeps God’s word in the forefront of our minds. We all see how Jesus’s sacrifice brings us all together. We are all great sinners in need of a greater savior. The Son of God gave his life as a ransom for many.

So this is our cause for thankfulness. Because He died we can live. We live for Him, giving him thanks for everything we have. Every breath we take. Every life we come into contact with was made by him for his purpose.

1 Thess 5:16-18 Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.