Thanksgiving and Unity
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the United States, and as people are preparing their dinners and gathering with family, I have been reflecting on how thanksgiving can help bring unity in the church. We all know a decision to be thankful can have a profound effect on someone, but if we all make that choice when it comes to one another, entire communities can change! What might we be thankful for to bring such changes to the church? Believers in Christ in every place and of every means have so much to be thankful for!
Firstly, we can be thankful for one another. This is so simple, but when is the last time you were thankful for your brothers and sisters in Christ, especially the ones outside of your church who are part of the global church? Paul wrote to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Corinthians that he thanked God for them all the time (Ephesians 1:16, Philippians 1:3-5). “I give thanks to my God always for you,” he wrote to the Corinthians, “because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus…” (1 Corinthians 1:4). Even the Corinthian church with all her shortcomings and problems evoked thanksgiving in the heart of Paul. These same people who wounded Paul so deeply are the same ones he always thanked God for. I can imagine that Paul’s choice to be thankful led him to love the Corinthians even when it was difficult. Have you ever thanked God for someone who hurt you? Even our closest friends in the church can hurt us, but rather than part ways and cause disunity, perhaps we could find a way to be thankful, even for the ones it is hard to love. If we have that kind of attitude towards all believers, even the ones we disagree with, it will only help to foster unity. It’s hard to have thanksgiving and animosity for someone at the same time!
Second, thanksgiving brings unity when we and our brothers and sisters in the faith realize we share a long list of things to be thankful for. We share a great salvation in Christ; we are all grateful for that. We are thankful for the blood of Jesus that was shed for us. We are thankful for the Spirit who has been given to us. We are thankful for the hope that is ours in the coming new creation. This mutual thanksgiving can bind believers together over the celebration of all that is ours in Christ. It brings us to a place of worship together as we acknowledge what God has done for us. When I was a missionary, I worshiped with other believers in churches where I couldn’t understand anything that was being said most of the time, yet at the same time, we shared a connection that was deeper than language. Whether we realize it or not, believers in Christ all share this connection. We have been transformed by the same faith in the same Lord. We walk the same road, running the same race for the same prize. If we can recognize this shared experience in Christ and the thanksgiving that emanates from a transformed heart, it will help us grow in understanding and even empathy for those we don’t see eye-to-eye with, leading to unity.
“Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!”
Lastly, we need the thankful for the church. I don’t mean the church just as a building or an institution, but as a people. Are you thankful for your pastor and all he sacrifices to make your church a reality? Are you thankful for the musicians who lead you in worship and the sound technicians who make the music happen? We should be thankful for Sunday school teachers raising up a new generation in the word, and ushers who keep services running smoothly. If your church meets in a building you should be thankful for that…maybe more thankful if it has air conditioning and heat! If your church meets in a home you should be thankful for your host who opens their doors to you. I’ve written before that no church is perfect, but when we show thanksgiving for imperfect things, we learn to love and appreciate them for the blessing they are.
Being thankful is a choice. It is a choice to focus not on what we don’t have or wish we had, but to recognize what is right in front of us, the everyday blessings that bring joy to our lives. The only thing we can control in many situations and relationships is ourselves, and this requires choosing thankfulness over dissatisfaction. This kind of thankfulness isn’t passive; you don’t get thanksgiving without giving! Thanks is meant to be expressed and lived. You don’t need to spend your next salary on Hallmark cards to show your gratitude, but it does need to be expressed, even in a passing word or a kind gesture. Thank those who have come to mind as you read this. Have a conversation with a friend about your shared thanksgiving over the salvation you have in Christ and be joyful about it together. Thank your church’s pastor for serving or your facilities manager for cleaning the building so well. Make it a point to show gratitude to someone who didn’t earn it or who you’re disconnected from, working hard to find something positive in them to be thankful for! Remember, you can’t remain in conscious disunity while you’re busy being thankful for someone! I don’t think thankfulness will solve the world’s problems, but it will definitely change you, and if we all take steps towards being more thankful, it will bring us together in ways we never thought possible.
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”