students of jesus

“Honestly, I just don’t feel like being thankful.” 

Who said anything about feelings?!?

We’re not responsible for our emotions, are we? It turns out, perhaps we are. Some events--and the emotions that go with them--are beyond our control: unexpected loss, good news beyond all expectation or the hurt inflicted by a loved-one.

Yet, in the everyday-ness of living, I believe that our emotions are largely the result of our habitual thoughts. If we could discern the map of our heart and mind, I suspect we would discover the well-worn pathways of our thinking and feeling. Expressed another way, we train ourselves to think and feel in certain predictable ways. (This is where I should cite studies from the Journal of Psychiatric Studies or some such authoritative-sounding publication, but no: I’m just going to share what I’ve observed about myself and others during my few decades of living.) I believe the reason we find repeated exhortations in the scripture to think and feel certain ways is because God has given us the capacity to rule our thoughts and emotions.

So: what if giving thanks is the most reasonable thing a sane person can do?

Ask Yourself: Have I ever considered the possibility that some (many?) of my emotional responses are the result of habit?

Live Into It: Only a fool would train him or her self to deny any emotional resonse. There is a time for weeping and a time for dancing! The keys for followers of Jesus, though, is who and how. Who is Lord of our emotional life, and how do we interact with our emotions?

Thankfulness is the doorway to God’s presence. Eugene Peterson says “Thank You” is God's password. G.K. Chesterton became a believer by recognizing impossibility of feeling thankfulness apart from having someone to thank.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (Psalm 100:4) We enter the gates of God’s courtyard by giving thanks. The image is drawn from the Temple in Jerusalem: a massive structure whose courtyard was open to nearly everyone. The Psalmist instructs us, though, the only way to proceed to the inner court is through thanksgiving. Not the mere attitude of gratitude, but the active giving of thanks: outward, vocal, and communal.

The proper response to God’s goodness is giving thanks. If we can catch the smallest glimpse of his goodness, it will generate thanks. Conversely, if we are not in the habit of giving thanks, perhaps it’s because we have not seen his goodness. And since his love endures forever, our thanks should be unending, and always new.

Ask Yourself: How comfortable am I expressing thanks, actually speaking thankful words--out loud? To others? To God?

Live Into It: Add to your "To Do' list the simple act of sending an email, making a phone call, or visiting someone in person for the sole purpose of expressing your thanks. It will change their day, and even better: after several weeks of walking it out, it will change your life.

Is there any subject Hollywood hasn’t covered? Genres multiply faster than starlets coming to L.A. Except in one area: Thanksgiving. There are only a handful of Thanksgiving-themed movies, but here's one that will provide you opportunity to mediate on life, death, urban community, and how to steal back your turkey from the neighbor's oven.

Pieces of April (2003) A wayward daughter invites her dying mother and the rest of her estranged family to her apartment for Thanksgiving dinner. Katie Holmes plays April, who discovers that family means more than she imagined. Patricia Clarkson, the best-kept secret in movies, plays the dying mother. The final sequence presents a view of family that shows all of us at our best. And for one day--Thanksgiving--they all get the relationships right. You’ll love this sweet movie. I'll buy the popcorn.

If the key to our spiritual growth is recognizing God at work and responding with thanks (yesterday's post), does this mean we should thank God for every event, every action--even the evil actions so prevalent in the world today?

Some Christians equate every happening with a "cosmic plan," as if each event was ordained and inspired by God. Some Christians believe God's plan includes the death of children or the actions of wicked men. Their consolation in the face of the evil is to say that God's plan is beyond our understanding--that "everything happens for a reason."

But there is a huge difference between "everything happens for a reason" and "God brings reason out of everything that happens." The first is Christian superstition; the second reveals the greatness and glory of God. Your Heavenly Father is not the author of evil in your life, but he is the editor. What men mean for ill, God can use to build goodness into us. A thankful spirit flows not from the fatalistic acceptance of every event but from the conviction that God is with us. His presence and his actions can bring goodness and light where previously there was only wickedness and darkness.

Ask Yourself: Do I blindly accept each and every moment as the work of God, or do I look for the goodness of God at work in the things and events before me?

Live Into It: How we answer the question above becomes the measuring stick of our walk with God. God is not the author of evil or bad things in our life, but we can be sure he is present and active in all circumstances, causing everything to work together for good--even wickedness of others or just plain bad luck. Can you begin to thank him for what he will create out of each circumstance?

The measure of our spirituality is not how much scripture we can recite. It’s not whether we can heal the sick. Nor is it prophetic insight worthy of Jeremiah. It is, simply, to see God’s goodness and respond in the appropriate way: with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is where Students of Jesus begin.

I have been a father for twenty-seven years: when one of my children expresses gratitude--toward anything good or right or true--my heart leaps inwardly because I know it is the key their advancement in the Spirit. The ability to recognize God at work, and to give hime glory, opens the way to the Kingdom of God in the here and now. The door opens to us daily. Won't you come in?

Ask Yourself: Am I able to recognize the goodness of God around me? Are my values and perceptions in tune enough to recognize every good and perfect gift the Father gives?

Live Into It: Our loving and very capable Father is constantly at work, pouring his goodness forth like sunshine growing things. One secret to our spiritual growth is to recognize this the warmth and feel His constant, kind attention toward us. Try this exercise: as you fall asleep tonight, take a moment to review--and recognize: how did the light of his goodness shine on me today?