Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights..." James 1:17

It occurred to me this Thanksgiving that the holiday becomes sort of cheap and generic without the Lord. You're thankful...but who are you thanking? We use the words "thank you" to express gratitude to a specific person--a being--for reasons great and small: I say thank you to the clerk at the grocery store for helping me, to my husband for a thoughtful gesture, to my mother for hosting a meal, to a stranger for holding the door. I don't thank the dishwasher for washing my dishes, my chair for holding my weight or the sun for shining. It would be silly if I did. Thankfulness is expressed to someone. Otherwise it's pointless--crazy, even.

Yet many celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving by expressing gratitude--naming and reflecting on our blessings--without thanking the source of this common grace. It's almost silly when you think about it: the classic Thanksgiving scene, family gathered 'round the table, each naming what he is thankful for. You can picture it, can't you? A mother thankful for her children, a father thankful for a wonderful meal, a child thankful for his puppy, a grandfather thankful for his family...but who are they thanking? From whom do these blessings flow?

This type of aimless thankfulness can be useful. It helps us realize how fortunate we are. It motivates us to help others. It helps us not to take our riches for granted. But at the end of the day, if we don't realize that our blessings are from heaven, isn't it all just warped selfishness? Without the Lord, thankfulness becomes an inventory of all that I have--and sometimes even an assumption that I deserve it. It becomes about me.

As I muse over these points, I am acutely aware that I rarely stop to realize the blessings that are in every corner of my life--and that when I do, I almost always fail to thank the Lord for his goodness to me. I am all about me, just like I feared. I do find myself thinking that I am entitled to good things. I am worse than the generic American family sitting around the Thanksgiving table naming blessings without praising the source...because I know the source, yet fail to thank him for his goodness.

I am so amazingly blessed...

I have everything I've ever wanted...

and heaven to look forward to...

Thank you, Lord. You are so good to me.

"And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." John 1:16