Thankfulness

My thoughts today have turned to thankfulness. I want to pose a question that I read on Facebook yesterday. It has taken over my mind for the past 24 hours or so...

"What if tomorrow, when we woke up, all we had was what we thanked God for today?"

I must say that when I first read this, it left me speechless. I know this isn't the first time I have probably heard this. But, it really struck me when I read it this time. I had to stop and really think about the answer to that question. I want to honestly confess that I am not a very thankful person. I have had periods of great thankfulness that have lasted days or maybe even weeks, but I have never maintained an attitude of thankfulness as I feel I should. How soon do we forget the blessings that have been lavished on us. I am so disappointed in myself. It was just last summer that I was shouting the practice of thankfulness from the rooftops! How soon I forgot.

In the book "One Thousand Gifts," Ann Voskamp argues that the fall of man may ultimately be seeded in ungratefulness. She contends, "Non-eucharisteo, ingratitude, was the fall - humanity's discontent with all that God freely gives." What a thought! I had never considered that before. Before I jump on the author's band wagon, I want to dig a little deeper into the original passage.

Genesis 3 describes the fall of man.

Genesis 3:1 - 7 NASB "Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; ³ but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” ⁴ The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings."

In order to more fully understand this passage, I turn to a commentary and concordance. In this moment, Satan casts doubt on God's character suggesting that He is jealous and holding them back from their destiny. Satan offered them the promise of divinity - knowing good and evil. Eve was then left to her natural desires and appetites. In verse six, Eve saw the tree was desirable. This word is closely related to the word covet (Exodus 20:17) seen later as God commands us not to covet the things that others have. Okay, now time to make this real. I will admit that I have coveted before. When I do so, I look at what someone else has and desire it for myself. In doing so, I am saying that I think what they have is better than what I have. James 1:17 states, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." By desiring what someone else has more than what God has given me, I am saying that what He has deemed as good isn't good enough for me. Whoa! I need to let that sink in for a moment...

With that in mind, I turn back to my book as the author looks at Luke 17 in Young's Literal Translation starting in verse 11.

"And it came to pass, in his going on to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee,¹²and he entering into a certain village, there met him ten leprous men, who stood afar off, ¹³and they lifted up the voice, saying, `Jesus, master, deal kindly with us;' <sup>14</sup>and having seen [them], he said to them, `Having gone on, shew yourselves to the priests;' and it came to pass, in their going, they were cleansed, ¹⁵and one of them having seen that he was healed did turn back, with a loud voice glorifying God, ¹⁶and he fell upon [his] face at his feet, giving thanks to him, and he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷And Jesus answering said, `Were not the ten cleansed, and the nine -- where? <sup>18</sup>There were not found who did turn back to give glory to God, except this alien;' <sup>19</sup>and he said to him, `Having risen, be going on, thy faith hath saved thee.' "

What is meant by "saved thee?" Had Jesus not already healed them? In Greek, the word is sozo which some translations define as "well" or "whole", but its literal meaning in this translation states "to save." So, when did the leper receive sozo? After reading verse 18, it seemed to occur when he returned to give thanks. If the fall is ingratitude, then salvation may be related to the giving of thanks. Is thanksgiving an integral part in the faith that saves?

Now, I am not saying that we as humans have any power to save ourselves - NOT AT ALL!! But, the author asks, "How else do we accept His free gift of salvation if not with thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives. Thanksgiving is the manifestation of our 'yes' to His grace."

There is something about giving thanks. Look at how many times Jesus gave thanks. He was constantly thanking the Father. Why had I not seen this before?!?!?!?!

I want to live a life of thankfulness. In her book, Ann Voskamp challenges the reader to come up with 1000 things he or she is thankful for. When I first read the book, I thought I could be thankful without that exercise. Well, here I am reading it again thinking there may be something to it. So, I am going to start my 1000 gifts list with you. Don't worry, I won't share all 1000. But, I would challenge you as well to join me. I would love it if you held me accountable. We could be partners actually. I would also encourage you to pick up Ann's book "One Thousand Gifts." Her writing is poetic yet logical.

Here is the beginning of my list of 1000 things or gifts I am thankful for:

1. A Savior who died for me while I was yet His enemy
2. My husband's laughter
3. Light
4. The smell of rain
5. Emma's sweet growl at me when I am not paying attention to her
6. Gracie's tooth
7. Friends who love me after walking through the fire with me
8. The sound of pages turning in a Bible
9. Highlighters
10. Old Gold - my Honda Accord I've had for 11 years

So bring it on!!! What are you thankful for???