Nov 26 2007
gratitudians continued
I went on vacation. It was wonderful. I am grateful and was glad for the opportunity to give thanks. I have several things I long to post on but first I wanted to direct your attention to the conclusion of James Street’s series on gratitudians.
You can read it for yourself in Part 2 and Part 3.
In his post the addresses something that is of particular interest to me.
I don’t think you can think about water or anything else in this life as gift without simultaneously thinking that there is a Giver.
This theistic dimension of thanksgiving is so very important to me. Like many modern Christians, I often live as a practical atheist. (That is a person who believes in God but often ignores God in everyday life and decisions.) Thanksgiving prevents that.
This is why I think that Thanksgiving is so hard to corrupt. Christmas may start with the baby Jesus, but the practices of Christmas, (gift giving, parties, singing, etc.) make perfect sense even without Christ. But Thanksgiving is the opposite. Our ideas about thanksgiving may start out as cultural or secular, but the practice of giving thanks leads us directly to theological pondering about the one who is worthy of our thanksgiving.
There is an important lesson here about practice. Actions shape ideas every bit as much as ideas shape actions. This is how spiritual disciplines work. They are things we do that naturally orient us toward God. Not because they are magical, but because they only make sense in light of God. The practice of giving and receiving gifts makes sense apart from God, the practice of thanksgiving does not. Prayer is such an important practice precisely because it is entirely meaningless apart from God. Consequently its practice shapes a person and binds a person closer to God.
I’m thankful for that.
on the walk
-Ethan
