Give Thanks part 1
Almost Thanksgiving, right? Might as well do a theme Rant series. And while I do want to get into the "attitude of gratitude" that we really ought to have... I want to start with kicking over some sacred cows. If that's ok. And if its not... read someone else's blog, I guess. Smiley face. Anyway. I'm sure you've heard this before, "Bow your heads and close your eyes." Its a tradition that does back, well, a long time, I guess. But look at this: "Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share" (Mark 6:41 NLT). And I think there are two important things to notice here. 1. Jesus looked up toward heaven. He didn't bow and close. Because Jesus was all about bringing heaven to earth. And the only way to do that is to know how it is in heaven. Even when He taught His disciples to pray He taught them, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). The days of heaven on earth, right? But, again, you have to know how it is in heaven. And seeing is believing. So, as far as it goes, on this side of the cross I would advise us to look INSIDE toward heaven. Because we are IN heaven. Because heaven is in US. And when we look inside (ourselves and each other) we see the love that's inside. And when we know its in there, it can come out. Naturally. When we receive it, we can release it. So the first thing is looking in the right place. Setting our affection on things above, not on things on the earth. You don't have to "get rid of the bad" as much as you have to "let the good times roll." We always get so caught up in fighting the darkness, instead of just letting the light shine. The second thing is: When Jesus looked up toward heaven, He saw abundance. Malachi 3:10 says, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." And notice that it doesn't say "the windows of heaven." It says "I will open YOU, the window of heaven." You are the way heaven GETS to earth. Its in you. It comes out through you. And, of course, by "it" I mean HE. Jesus. Love. That is what makes the abundant life abundant. That is what happens when we give what we've got. Five loaves and two fish fed a multitude. Because Jesus knew what was really going on. Because He looked in the right place, and saw the right thing. He didn't see not enough. He saw more than enough. And that caused Him to give thanks. The NLT says He blessed them, but most other translations use that term "gave thanks." And, to me, that's the only response to seeing something so good. We don't praise God in order to convince Him to do something. We praise God because what He has already done is worthy of praise! That's where the attitude of gratitude comes from; not from trying to get something, but in knowing that we have something. Something that is too good and too big to keep to ourselves. Something that everybody needs. Something worth sharing. And we already have it. So all we need to do is give thanks, and give it away!