We’ve become numb to the obscenity of a religious holiday being dragged out for months as a marketing strategy. Year after year, Christmas becomes more of an orgy of materialism and a bow to the bottom line.
Christ threw the money changers out of the temple; today, he might have a tougher time throwing the retailers out of his own birthday party.
Many of us celebrate Christmas despite all this, not because of it.
Amidst this trend, Thanksgiving is in danger of becoming overwhelmed, of being turned into a one day football-and-turkey diversion from Christmas commerce. What was once a prelude to a season of goodwill is becoming a mere day of rest before Black Friday.
This year, our family celebrates 375 years of God’s grace and protection on the continent of North America. Our patriarch fled England, bound for the new world, in 1635. He was seeking religious freedom and was in the Rev. Josehp Hull Company. For 14 generations, our family has sought to live out a Biblically based faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have suffered trials and persecutions, but by God’s grace we are still here and still belong to Him. We give thanks for His bounty and we are especially thankful that we will be celebrating this year our first Thanks Giving with our youngest son (11 mo.), who embodies the 14th generation of God’s sovereign protection and blessings on our family. We don’t generally even watch football.
I have a kit that has pictures of the Pilgrims and their journey, a miniature Bible, a plaster ship and corn and cross, and a narrative that we read to commemorate their crossing. But as I mentioned above, we go beyond the Pilgrim’s narrative. We celebrate our own family’s history and God’s divine protection, blessings, and care. From the 1635 treacherous crossing of the North Atlantic in a tiny ship called the Assurance, to keeping my nephew safe in Iraq…We Give Thanks to God! As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Wonderful sentiments, #1.