What is truly the joy in the giving of thanks or thanksgiving? I would tend to think that would be dependent upon the degree of value one places upon that which was lost but later found. The loss of a diamond compared to a nickel would tend to motivate the owner to look for it and once found be thankful for it. This truth can be applied to a person, place, or thing. From a biblical perspective, the highest creation connected to the One that made him, is man, who was created in the image of God. The Bible is the story of man’s lost ness and God’s redemption that is sewn throughout scripture. There was a Black poet by the name of James Weldon Johnson who captures a truth of the pinnacle or highest order of God’s creation, which is man. It reads accordingly:
And God stepped out on space
And he looked around and said:
I’m lonely—
I’ll make me a world.
Then God walked around,
And God looked around
On all that he had made.
He looked at his sun,
And he looked at his moon,
And he looked at his little stars;
He looked on his world
With all its living things,
And God said: I’m lonely still.
Then God sat down—
On the side of a hill where he could think,
By a deep wide river he sat down;
With his head in his hands,
God thought and thought
Till he thought: I’ll make me a man!
The simple truth about the relationship of God to man is only the beginning of the story as found in Genesis Chapters 1 and 2. In that account we see God is a loving, benevolent father, and man is the son who was given responsibility to take care of his father’s property called The Garden of Eden. We later find that the man-Adam makes an independent choice to break that relationship, without his Father’s intervention, and becomes a violator—subject to punishment, separated from his loving, benevolent heavenly father by choice—bringing upon himself an existence of death rather than life. Even today, we still find most who choose to live an existence of death, symbolized by the man Jesus found, who lived amongst the tombs and graves. (Mark 5:1-19 ‘Legion’). The rest of the Bible is a story of how a loving father reclaims his lost son.
This story I invite you to read is considered by scholars as one of the gospels within the gospels. In the gospel of Luke, Chapter 15 verses 11-32, Jesus tells the story of a family torn apart; he does this using a parable. A parable is a spiritual truth told in such a way that people can relate to it and eventually grasp its meaning. A parable can be defined as “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning” The Parables of Jesus. This is a story about a wealthy father who lost a son due to the son’s bad choice. The story demonstrates the father’s love and joy toward the lost but found son as well as the joy of thanksgiving felt by the servants upon his return.
I believe there are four steps to the joy of thanksgiving which apply to all our lives. What are the steps to the joy of thanksgiving? The joy of thanksgiving can be experienced by the following:
- You need an honest reflection of your condition—The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; but the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” All of humanity has strayed from God our Creator, and until we return to God through Jesus Christ His Son, we are destined for eternal separation in hell.
- You need to turn your heart towards home—This is an act of repentance and accountability. Just like the Prodigal son in the story. He came to his senses and decided to return home to his father and begged forgiveness for his wrongdoing. You need to come to that conclusion and do the same with God. He is waiting with open arms to love and embrace you.
- You need to reconcile with God—which is only made possible due to the Father’s compassion—”For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
- You need to be thankful to God—which is the Father’s celebration of reconciliation with a lost son moving from a state of death to life everlasting by repenting and trusting in Jesus Christ your for salvation.
Do it now! Don’t wait, because LOST LIVES MATTER!
