Giving Thanks

by

Rev. Richard Fisher

Is a cow more grateful than you?

We are so blessed in the United States. I realize there are many struggling to make ends meet but here are some statistics about the United States. They may be a little outdated but it still illustrates the blessings we have. In America, we have:

1.    A billion acres of farm land.
2.    Five hundred million acres of forest.
3.    A hundred million acres of land developed into cities and towns.
4.    A hundred million acres of coal, iron, copper and other minerals.
5.    Three hundred twenty thousand oil wells.
6.    Six and a half million farms.
7.    Two million miles of highways.
8.    Six percent of the world's land area and 7 percent of the population of the world, yet we have:

a.    Sixty-six percent (66%) of the world's wealth.
b.    Eighty percent (80% of the world's automobiles.
c.    Half of the world's telephones.
d.    Over half of the life insurance policies

In Ephesians 5:20, we see that we are to always give thanks to God. Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is good to have a special time like Thanksgiving but giving thanks is something we are to do every day. Part of our daily prayers should be giving thanks to God.

        One year when Christmas Day came on a Sunday, a farmer decided to go to church. (Like some people, he thought he was fulfilling his religious obligation by going to church twice a year -- at Christmas and Easter!) The sermon that day was preached from the text, " The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand"" (Isa. 1:3). Isaiah is saying that man is more ungrateful than animals.

        After church the farmer returned home and stood among his cows, when one of them began to lick his hand -- a practical demonstration of the sermon he had just heard. Although he was a strong man, the farmer began to weep. He thought, "God did much more for me and yet I never thanked Him. My cow is far more grateful than I am. What do I ever give her other than grass and water?"

Are we thankful for salvation and all the blessings it brings in and through Christ? May we give thanks to God not only what He does for us but for who He is. God is love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life.” John 3:16