Thursday, November 24, 2005
For What We Are About To Receive...
It is easy to 
be thankful for the things we have; the things we see before our eyes in the moment. We should be. We should always be thankful for these things that God has very kindly given us, the things, physical or spiritual, that meet our needs. We must especially be thankful for our forgiveness, without which, we would never be able to reach Paradise.
However, it is far more difficult to be thankful for those things that we haven't yet received. God doesn't stop "giving"/"lending" at any time to his faithful. He continues his generosity even after our physical bodies are gone. Because God is Eternal, his Grace is also Eternal, and we must be grateful for the Love that he WILL bestow on us as well as that which he has already bestowed. There is no limit to the wellspring that is God. He loves us no matter what we do, where we go, or how we do it, and because he loves us so much, he receives our repentance and forgives us when we do it with honesty and humility. There is no human being on this large sphere that can do that for us. Al-Karim is one of the names of God/Allah. It means, "the Giver". He gives so much. The possibilities of a life given to God are breathtaking to think about. A few examples, of course, would be: Mother Theresa, Salah al-Din, Billy Graham, Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Prophet Mohammed, etc; people, who, following the will of God, accomplished much and changed the world. We know their names only because they saw what God COULD give them and were grateful for the gift.
As we sit down today to our Thanksgiving Turkey, (or Ham for some of you--tsk, tsk), be thankful for what you have around you; children, parents, friends, food, money, home, whatever. But don't forget the prayer, "For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly Thankful."
be thankful for the things we have; the things we see before our eyes in the moment. We should be. We should always be thankful for these things that God has very kindly given us, the things, physical or spiritual, that meet our needs. We must especially be thankful for our forgiveness, without which, we would never be able to reach Paradise.However, it is far more difficult to be thankful for those things that we haven't yet received. God doesn't stop "giving"/"lending" at any time to his faithful. He continues his generosity even after our physical bodies are gone. Because God is Eternal, his Grace is also Eternal, and we must be grateful for the Love that he WILL bestow on us as well as that which he has already bestowed. There is no limit to the wellspring that is God. He loves us no matter what we do, where we go, or how we do it, and because he loves us so much, he receives our repentance and forgives us when we do it with honesty and humility. There is no human being on this large sphere that can do that for us. Al-Karim is one of the names of God/Allah. It means, "the Giver". He gives so much. The possibilities of a life given to God are breathtaking to think about. A few examples, of course, would be: Mother Theresa, Salah al-Din, Billy Graham, Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Prophet Mohammed, etc; people, who, following the will of God, accomplished much and changed the world. We know their names only because they saw what God COULD give them and were grateful for the gift.
As we sit down today to our Thanksgiving Turkey, (or Ham for some of you--tsk, tsk), be thankful for what you have around you; children, parents, friends, food, money, home, whatever. But don't forget the prayer, "For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly Thankful."
