As we approach this holiday season, many people will start to set their dials to their favorite radio station, WII FM (What’s In It For Me). Or for those of us west of the Mississippi, it may be KAI AM (Keep Away, It’s All Mine)! We all feel the stress of this time of year—Christians and non-Christians alike—but as Christians, we have a hope, a faith, and a love that are different from the world’s (1 Corinthians 13:13). We hope differently. We believe differently. We love differently. So what better time of year to display that hope, faith, and love than during the holidays? I’m not suggesting that shouldn’t be our disposition all year (it should!); but what a great reminder the holiday season offers us to practice what we believe.
Love wins the day and is the emphasis of 1 Corinthians 13:13. As I consider my assignment this month to blog on faith and “Thanksliving,” I’m reminded that my thankfulness is fully wrapped up in the One in whom I entrust my salvation, Jesus Christ. Instead of tuning in to WII FM, I can now tune into WGHD FM (What God Has Done For Me). Ok, I’m done with the call letters. But seriously, Thanksgiving (the holiday) is typically seen as a “day” to reflect and give thanks for all we have and to remember what God has done for us in His Son Jesus. When I think of Thanksliving, it causes me to go deeper and to think outside myself: to think of others as well. Yes, I’m thankful for what God has done for me in Christ; but let’s remember the disposition that God Himself took when He sent His Son into the World. Jesus came as a servant. He came into a world of sinners who despised Him, persecuted Him, and ultimately killed Him for doing no wrong. He came to serve them and to save them. WOW!
Because we have put our faith in Him and in what He did on our behalf, we are called to a life of Thanksliving to display our hope, faith, and love to a world that may despise us and persecute us, as some are martyred even now. But we should always be thankful and proclaim, like Asaph and the Levites, “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Then say, ‘Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us and deliver us from the nations, to give thanks to Your holy name, and glory in Your praise.’ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting” (1 Chronicles 16:34-36).
