I was perusing the Anglican Book of Common Prayer today, specifically looking at the portion concerning holidays. The prayer for Thanksgiving Day reads as follows:
Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
I really like the sentiment expressed here – that the purpose of God’s abundant blessing in our lives goes beyond his fatherly gift of provision for our own needs. It also includes the opportunity for us to emulate him in practicing generosity and caring for the needs of others. As I considered this, my attention drifted to 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. If you haven’t read it recently, take 5 minutes and do so – it’s amazing! In 10 action-packed verses, Paul weaves together the themes of generosity, reward, cheerfulness, provision, concern for the poor, righteousness, confession of the gospel, the glory of God, and thanksgiving!
There is a breathtaking process at work here. What follows is my attempt at unwinding some of the magnificent threads of truth in this passage:
* All things belong to God.
* God blesses believers with grace (both spiritually and physically/financially) and provides for their needs.
* In response, believers “sow” the provision they have received through the ministry of lavish and sacrificial giving, caring for the poor, especially other believers.
* This generosity brings about several results:
à those in need are fully taken care of
à they glorify God by their genuine thanksgiving, and they pray for their
benefactors
à God enables those who gave to continue in still greater generosity and
increases the harvest of their righteousness.
à Rinse, lather, repeat – the cycle continues!
In all of these stages, God is the primary agent behind the scenes – providing for, guiding, enabling, and rewarding Christians who participate in this ministry of service. But our role is by no means insignificant – we are to step out in faith and sow bountifully, give cheerfully, pray earnestly, and glorify God for his extravagant grace. And we do so bearing in mind the ultimate act of cosmic generosity which the Triune God himself demonstrated in the gospel. Indeed, our obedience in giving is directly tied with our confession of the good news of Jesus Christ. The former flows from the latter and demonstrates the authenticity of our faith, all to the glory of God.
I pray that we will keep these thoughts in mind and look for divinely appointed opportunities to be generous, both in the present (when it is easy for us to forget that other people are more broke than we are!) and in the future (as our nation and world faces the implications of the disastrous economic situation in which we find ourselves). Imagine what would happen if, in the middle of financial hardships on every side, the church demonstrated her trust in God’s provision and gave sacrificially and cheerfully to take care of those in need, both her own members as well as those outside. What a powerful testimony that would be to the watching world!
God has given us so much, and grateful generosity is our single-minded and whole-hearted response. Thanks be to God for his most inexpressible gift – his son Jesus Christ!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
I really like the sentiment expressed here – that the purpose of God’s abundant blessing in our lives goes beyond his fatherly gift of provision for our own needs. It also includes the opportunity for us to emulate him in practicing generosity and caring for the needs of others. As I considered this, my attention drifted to 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. If you haven’t read it recently, take 5 minutes and do so – it’s amazing! In 10 action-packed verses, Paul weaves together the themes of generosity, reward, cheerfulness, provision, concern for the poor, righteousness, confession of the gospel, the glory of God, and thanksgiving!
There is a breathtaking process at work here. What follows is my attempt at unwinding some of the magnificent threads of truth in this passage:
* All things belong to God.
* God blesses believers with grace (both spiritually and physically/financially) and provides for their needs.
* In response, believers “sow” the provision they have received through the ministry of lavish and sacrificial giving, caring for the poor, especially other believers.
* This generosity brings about several results:
à those in need are fully taken care of
à they glorify God by their genuine thanksgiving, and they pray for their
benefactors
à God enables those who gave to continue in still greater generosity and
increases the harvest of their righteousness.
à Rinse, lather, repeat – the cycle continues!
In all of these stages, God is the primary agent behind the scenes – providing for, guiding, enabling, and rewarding Christians who participate in this ministry of service. But our role is by no means insignificant – we are to step out in faith and sow bountifully, give cheerfully, pray earnestly, and glorify God for his extravagant grace. And we do so bearing in mind the ultimate act of cosmic generosity which the Triune God himself demonstrated in the gospel. Indeed, our obedience in giving is directly tied with our confession of the good news of Jesus Christ. The former flows from the latter and demonstrates the authenticity of our faith, all to the glory of God.
I pray that we will keep these thoughts in mind and look for divinely appointed opportunities to be generous, both in the present (when it is easy for us to forget that other people are more broke than we are!) and in the future (as our nation and world faces the implications of the disastrous economic situation in which we find ourselves). Imagine what would happen if, in the middle of financial hardships on every side, the church demonstrated her trust in God’s provision and gave sacrificially and cheerfully to take care of those in need, both her own members as well as those outside. What a powerful testimony that would be to the watching world!
God has given us so much, and grateful generosity is our single-minded and whole-hearted response. Thanks be to God for his most inexpressible gift – his son Jesus Christ!
Happy Thanksgiving!
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