Giving Thanks In Preparation

Dear Faith Family,   

"So CHRIST, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly awaiting him." (Hebrews 9:28)

More than likely, in twenty-four hours or so from now, you'll find yourself around a table with family, friends, and maybe a semi-stranger or two! As you do, take a moment to ponder all the faces. What, do you think, brings this collection of stories together?

While the surface answers of the obvious national holiday, a desire to be with loved ones, or familial obligation are not untrue, the truly true answer is more beautiful!

Whether a handful or a hundred, the seeming hodgepodge of persons of which you are a part is gathered together by two forces: the providence of God in and through your intertwining histories, and gratitude for another year of His sustaining graces. Whether named, presumed, or, as too often the case, overlooked in the festivities, God's unchanging faithfulness in each new morning and in more yesterdays than we will know is why we gather around a table of thanksgiving. 

It has been God's unchanging faithfulness across all the yesterdays of human existence that has had our attention these last several weeks. God, guiding history towards the arrival of His anointed, the One who will restore what has been lost in our relationship with the earth, each other, and God Himself. This story of *Jesus Awaited, is the story we are all caught up in.

From the "first gospel" in Genesis through the "first glimpse" of the Anointed in the flawed image of David, to the unprecedented visions of the exiled prophets; we have seen the providence of God intertwining histories through sustaining graces in preparation for the anointed's arrival, His "advent". An arrival we begin to contemplate and celebrate beginning this Sunday. 

Thinking about such things has me wondering, does Thanksgiving fall where it does on the calendar for a reason? Could it be that a day to gather around a table by God's providence and sustaining grace is just what we need to prepare for Christ's, "the anointed," arrival, once in history and again in our future? 

I think it might, and I pray it does. May the Spirit of God fill us with both gratitude and hope around our Thanksgiving tables tomorrow.

Love you, faith family. God bless and Happy Thanksgiving!