Thanks Living

Thanksgiving is over.  Or is it?  Most people feel that on the annual Thanksgiving holiday they ought to be thankful, or at least show thanks in some specific way.  That is important, especially when we realize that the very word “thanksgiving” suggests the giving of thanks or making sure that we express our appreciation.  I’d like to suggest that as we look back to Thanksgiving that we let it remind us of one other thing – “thanks living.”  By that I mean that we should be so grateful and thankful to God for what He has done for us that we let that gratefulness show by the way we live our lives.  In the Bible, the Apostle Paul says this: "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus" (I Thessalonians 5:18).

When we give thanks in all circumstances we live in a thankful way.  By “thanks living” we show our appreciation for the personal freedom we enjoy in our country, including our religious freedom.  By “thanks living” we voluntarily submit ourselves to live according to the guidelines God reveals to us in His holy Word.  By “thanks living” we monitor the words that we say, so that those words are always encouraging and uplifting.  The significance of Thanksgiving cannot be underestimated – especially when we add to it our “thanks living.”  Will you join me in the transition from the Thanksgiving holiday Season to the Christmas holiday season by expressing thanks to God through not only the giving of thanks but by “thanks living?”