Thanksgiving
Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.––Ephesians 5:4
Dear South Cities Family,
Many of us will be going to spend time with family and friends today. Some of us will be spending it with unbelievers, and this verse will have direct application. The light of Christ will shine as you point to his goodness and beauty from a thankful heart, and don’t participate in the crude, callous, filthy, and foolish talk that can happen around lots of food and football.
But Thanksgiving (and many holidays) is a really helpful reset for my heart. Paul is trying to root out the ugliness of self-taking, selfishness, and greedy attitudes from the hearts of believers. While only a few of those behaviors are listed here, you could probably fill in a bunch more attitudes: self-pity, manipulation, gossip, grumbling, malice, and painful jabs could be a few others in the list. Paul is saying instead of those things that seek to put us at the center and take from others at their expense––what if we put Jesus at the center and let our hearts flow in thankfulness? This thankfulness for what we already have in Jesus can help us fight for rest and contentment that help us to walk in love, light, and wisdom and point others to what is good, right, and true.
So, whether this applies to you today as you gather with friends or family or is just a helpful reset for your heart, let’s be a people walking in thanksgiving. Let’s be a people walking in what is good, right, and true that the light and love of Christ might be seen through us. Let’s get to know those who don’t know Jesus––and are walking in all the darkness, hate, and foolishness of the world––and show them how good and happy it is to follow Jesus. Let’s not look around at the world in despondency, despair, or desperation, but let’s believe that God has made us for such a time as this: to be a thankful people in a time where anger and outrage rule the day.
On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for South Cities Church. I am thankful for a people that is increasingly becoming my family and my partners in the gospel in these south cities. So, let me leave you with Paul’s words from Philippians 1:3–5:
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Happy Thanksgiving, South Cities!
Pastor Dave
