Thanksgiving and Authenticity

Thanksgiving: Thankfulness that Gives to Others

 

  Give Thanks and Give Out of Thanks.

 

In the biblical story of the loaves and the fishes, Christ takes the ordinary, gives thanks for it, and then He makes the miracle happen. 

 

God is still in the business of making miracles and then multiplying the miracle. The bread of life is multiplied in our lives and then as a result we become broken bread and poured out wine.  God’s grace pours out of His children's inner spirit of thankfulness.

Are you thankful? Do you have a thanksgiving spirit? We give thanks but could it be more?

 A tie-in exists between being thankful to God and the desire to give to others. Out of a spirit of thankfulness something originates into another manifestation. From within a thankful, God-focused heart comes a selfless expression of care that is given forth in word or deed. There is an automaticity embedded in "thanks" found in the nucleus of a thought that often morphs into an act of giving. 

 

“Thanks” + “Giving” = Thanks-Giving.

One of the best advertisements for Christ is an authentic believer. What does an authentic Christ-follower look like? What will their life exhibit? Through my observation of authentic Christians, I believe an authentic person is calm, peaceful, strong, is well-paced and has inner power. They aren’t in a hurry but they’re not late either. They have something to give but they don’t push their way nor force to be heard. They have an answer when the question is asked. They are lovers of God.

 

They are truth-bearers. 

 

An authentic person can say the hard things in a kind way, they won’t avoid the question even if it requires swimming upstream against the flowing current of public opinion. There is a gentle nature within them, they know what they’re about. Yet, they can listen to a contrary view without reacting. They care more about the person than the deed. They see possibilities in impossible situations. An authentic Christ-follower is knit to the Source.

When we are thankful to God for what He has done for us and in us, out of this thankfulness we give of ourselves to God and we give to others. When we are giving to others we are giving to God. The two intertwine. 

 

The more we give to others, the more we give to God.

In the story referred to above we have Jesus, the teacher, with a hungry multitude. (John 6:8-12). Christ teaches by illustration. Christ gives thanks for a lunch of five barley loaves and two fishes. After giving thanks, Christ makes the miracle happen. The lunch multiplies. Thousands are fed. Baskets of food are left over. In essence, Christ gave thanks to the Father, then he gives something physical in nature to meet the people's need for bread. Christ multiplies the miracle of blessing. The physical need is met. Later, in that very same chapter, it is explained that Jesus Christ is the bread of life. He is the spiritual bread that meets spiritual needs.

Christ is the bread of life. He is spiritual meat, the believer's life source of spiritual life. Christ multiplies the miracle, the miracle He is doing in our lives even when we are unaware of it. When we become authentic Christ-followers, He helps himself to our willingness to be bread for others, and He projects a miracle in our wake. We need God to feed us in all areas -- physical, mental, emotional, and intellectual -- of our lives. God brings to us opportunities where we give to someone else, especially when we ask Him for these opportunities.

Real authenticity? Christ-follower authenticity? What example? Answer: Jesus Christ. Read thoughtfully the life of Christ as He lived it. There you will find authenticity. He is the model to follow. His life is the example that says it all. Jesus Christ is the real deal.