In 1621, the Plymouth Colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.  For more than a century, days of Thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states.  

One of George Washington’s early official acts was the first Thanksgiving Proclamation.  I wish to share portions of that proclamation given on October 3, 1789 in New York City.

“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, Who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed . . . and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions . . .”

It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

Thanksgiving is a time for us to acknowledge with gratitude, all that God has done for us, as individuals, as families, and as a nation. The Psalmist says, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.”

Dr. Gary Inrig, Bible teacher at Inrig Ministries, in his book The Parables, as he introduces the story of the woman who had lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at a Pharisee”s  house stood at Jesus’ feet, wet His feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed  them, and poured perfume on them expressing her gratitude, shares from the life of G. K. Chesterton.

“G. K. Chesterton was one of the remarkable individuals of the early twentieth century, a genius who combined the abilities of a novelist, critic, poet, popular theologian and writer of detective stories.  Toward the end of his life, he turned to the writing of his autobiography.  As part of the process, he tried to state in a single sentence the most important lesson he had learned from life.  After many false starts and wrong answers, he finally reached his conclusion.  The most important thing he had learned, he claimed, was that the critical factor in life is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”

Dr. Inrig goes on to share his thoughts concerning gratitude.

“Among the great ideas, that probably doesn’t deserve to top the charts, but it does belong high on the list.  Gratitude lubricates social interactions and its absence embitters the spirit and poisons relationships.  Some people live as if they are entitled to life’s good things and other people’s kindness.  That attitude quickly wears thin with those around them, and such people sentence themselves to loneliness.  Unthankful people are almost always unhappy people. 

But there is another dimension to the quality of gratitude.  An attitude of overflowing thankfulness is one of the prime indicators of our relationship and peace with God. When gratitude is lacking, grace has either not been received or may not been understood.  The state of our relationship with God is revealed clearly by our gratitude towards Him.”  

Thanksgiving highlights the home and family.  It is one of the most traveled times of the year.  Thousands of miles are traveled just to be home with family.  There is just something special about being with family on Thanksgiving Day.  As we gather around the dinner table, with our heads bowed, our love is shared with each other, and our thoughts turned upward to express our gratitude to God for His mercy and grace, His abundance in blessings, and His love revealed by the Cross of Christ, at this holiday, as at no other, may we count our blessings though we  run out of time before we can exhaust the list.  We can always find reasons to give thanks, especially for His love for us revealed in Jesus Christ.  The apostle Paul said, “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

May everyone have a happy, blessed, and safe Thanksgiving Day!

Chaplain Frank Crosby