Reflecting on God’s goodness this Thanksgiving morning, I’m reminded that God has given us an exponential amount of blessings. When I say “us,” I mean (primarily) American Christians.
If we stop and think about it, we have so much more than many of our fellow humans in other countries, including our brothers and sisters in Christ. We have the Gospel. We have freedom. We have the Scriptures in a variety of English translations. We have so many opportunities to grow through academic and biblical teaching. We have countless resources – money, transportation, books, and the list could go on and on.
We have no reason not to stop today, meditate, and respond to the Lord’s goodness with similar words that the psalmist expressed four times in Psalm 107: “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!”
However, our expressions of gratitude and the acknowledgement that we are blessed are not an end to themselves. God’s goodness in our lives should flow through our hands in tangible expressions of gratefulness to others. Thanks leads to giving.
As we realize God’s blessings, we also embrace a burden. Not a negative burden that drives us to despair, but an energizing burden fueled by grace to share with others from the goodness that God has lavished on us. Jesus taught in Luke 12:48, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”
While we fully recognize God’s blessings in our lives, let’s not suppress the appropriate burden to equip our brothers and sisters around the globe who don’t possess a fraction of the opportunities and resources that God has given us. The heartbeat of CDI for over 35 years has been to equip believers to make disciples. As we reflect on God’s lavish blessings, may we also embrace the responsibility that comes with those blessings.
Jason Little
CDI Executive Director