Excerpts From: The Messenger |
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"And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, ?Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen." Revelation (7:11-12).
Reflecting on conversations I have had recently about thanksgiving and how God fits in it, I came across some challenging examples of this from other cultures, that I want to share.
In Africa, there are several tribes that have remarkable ways of expressing their gratitude. In East Africa, the Masai tribe expresses thanks by placing their foreheads on the ground and saying, "My head is in the dirt." Another African Tribe communicates gratitude by sitting for a long time in front of the hut of the individual whom they want to thank, saying, "I sit on the ground before you."
These Africans understand that a core attitude of thanksgiving is humility, and their way of expressing it clearly represents that attitude. Our passage in Revelation reflects the same thing: angels, elders, and living creatures all fall on their faces in humility and gratitude to God for who He is.
I see a deep connection between thanksgiving and humility which, perhaps, is often overlooked in society these days. Thankful people recognize their need, and the generosity and beneficence of the Giver, and every truly grateful person is humbled by the amazing gifts she/he's received from God. So I see that true humility will always be accompanied by gratitude, and also, that those who are truly grateful will be growing in the beautiful characteristic of humility. May it be so for us.
A Scottish minister by the name of Alexander Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought to himself, "Certainly the preacher won't think of anything for which to thank the Lord on a wretched day like this."
Much to his surprise, however, Whyte began by praying, "We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this."
You see, there is always a way to thank God, even in the worst of circumstances. Where there?s a will, there?s a way. We have just embarked into the New Year. Let?s grow into the true spirit of thanksgiving. As we draw near to God with our thanks, He will draw near to us and bring victory!
Your friend and pastor,
Pastor Samuel King-Kabu
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person?though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die? but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
There is a story about a great Russian tribal leader in the early days who had two laws. The first was that all the tribe were to love their parents and the second was they were not to steal. This man's leadership and these laws made his tribe the greatest in all of Russia. But one day they discovered that someone was stealing. This angered the leader greatly and he brought all the people together. He said, "Let the thief come forward and receive 10 lashes for his crime." No one came and he upped the ante to 20 lashes. Then 30, then 40 lashes. He stopped there for he knew that it would take a strong man to survive 40 lashes with the whip.
The crowd dispersed and the leader sent his men to find the thief. Within a week they brought the thief to him and the leader gasped, for the thief was his own mother. The guards were wagering among themselves as to what this great and wise leader would do. Would he keep his word, obey his second law and whip his mother? Or would he obey the first law, love his mother and let her go free, thus disgracing himself and the laws he sought to enforce? If the crime went unpunished, surely everyone would steal. The leader gathered the tribe together. They brought his mother forward and bared her frail back.
"Ah, ha," thought the people, "he's going to whip her." Then, just before the whip master brought the whip to bear, the leader strode over to his mother, tearing his shirt off as he went and draped himself over her frail body, taking the 40 lashes himself.
That's exactly what Jesus did for us. Jesus took our punishment on the cross. We should have rightly died for our sins, but Jesus took our place. "But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Last month I asked the question, "Is my heart tender and compassionate?" This leader's heart was.
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St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal