Sheer Thankfulness!
How curious that the first time the word, “thanksgiving” occurs in Scripture is in the context of prescribed offerings indicated to Moses regarding Israel’s worship in the tabernacle. For those who study the book of Leviticus (and you should), commentators note five specific offerings required of those who worshipped God in the Jewish community of faith: 1) Burnt Offerings; 2) Grain Offerings; 3) Peace Offerings; 4) Sin Offerings; and 5) Guilt Offerings. But I wonder if commentators have missed one: THANKSGIVING OFFERINGS. As noted in Lev. 7:11-12, “And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings one may offer to the LORD. If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer the THANKSGIVING SACRIFICE…” Question is, is this part of the Peace offering or an altogether separate offering? It seems to me that while thanksgiving is implied alongside every one of the five offerings indicated, that a thanksgiving offering should stand out separate from our religious routines as a prominent and non-negotiable attitude for all of life. Thankfulness for family. Thankfulness for friends. Thankfulness for our country. But most of all, above all, thankfulness to God.
This thanksgiving reflection attempts to roll each of these elements together through recent memories I have experienced. I kept thinking this week about my grandfather, Bernard Potts. Not surprising that I do, for reasons I will soon disclose. Among the best memories I have in my life are the memories I carry inside me regarding Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Potts’. So, it is weird that on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 1997, while preparing for a Thanksgiving meal with Penny’s family in Iowa, that I received an unforeseen phone call that Grandpa Potts had died early that morning of a fatal heart attack. My shock was apparent to all of my wife’s dear family, but the surprise was greater than they realized. Up to that point Thanksgiving had been one of my favorite days of the year. Now it triggered recollections of great loss. Strangely, it still does. But what is wonderful is how grandpa Potts lived so as to be so fondly remembered such that what I experienced 14 years ago as a day of great loss has become an even greater day of gain. In fact, Thanksgiving means more to me now than ever.
Everyone experiences difficulties, losses and regrets in life. It is impossible not to. When we do, we have a choice to make. We can either be resentful, or find a way to be thankful. In God’s prescribed way of relating to Him, He devised offerings consistent with becoming whole people in the midst of a wicked and rotten world. So God provided Burnt Offerings for occasions requiring vows, Grain Offerings for circumstances of petition, Guilt Offerings for penitence, Peace Offerings for affirming (and re-affirming) covenant relationships, and Sin Offerings for our failures to heed God’s commands, BUT ALL WERE DESIGNED TO EVOKE THANKSGIVING THROUGH WORSHIP TO HIM. Minus thankfulness none of these offerings meant a thing. How wonderful how God meets us in midst of human failures and unexpected losses, transforming them to become occasions of thankfulness and gratitude. With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible… and even more!
This thanksgiving reflection attempts to roll each of these elements together through recent memories I have experienced. I kept thinking this week about my grandfather, Bernard Potts. Not surprising that I do, for reasons I will soon disclose. Among the best memories I have in my life are the memories I carry inside me regarding Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Potts’. So, it is weird that on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 1997, while preparing for a Thanksgiving meal with Penny’s family in Iowa, that I received an unforeseen phone call that Grandpa Potts had died early that morning of a fatal heart attack. My shock was apparent to all of my wife’s dear family, but the surprise was greater than they realized. Up to that point Thanksgiving had been one of my favorite days of the year. Now it triggered recollections of great loss. Strangely, it still does. But what is wonderful is how grandpa Potts lived so as to be so fondly remembered such that what I experienced 14 years ago as a day of great loss has become an even greater day of gain. In fact, Thanksgiving means more to me now than ever.
Everyone experiences difficulties, losses and regrets in life. It is impossible not to. When we do, we have a choice to make. We can either be resentful, or find a way to be thankful. In God’s prescribed way of relating to Him, He devised offerings consistent with becoming whole people in the midst of a wicked and rotten world. So God provided Burnt Offerings for occasions requiring vows, Grain Offerings for circumstances of petition, Guilt Offerings for penitence, Peace Offerings for affirming (and re-affirming) covenant relationships, and Sin Offerings for our failures to heed God’s commands, BUT ALL WERE DESIGNED TO EVOKE THANKSGIVING THROUGH WORSHIP TO HIM. Minus thankfulness none of these offerings meant a thing. How wonderful how God meets us in midst of human failures and unexpected losses, transforming them to become occasions of thankfulness and gratitude. With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible… and even more!
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