It’s Thanksgiving Eve. We make sure everything is finished at work for the holiday break. We go out to shop for any last minute groceries for tomorrow. We start tidying the house up for our guests. We check all the Black Friday sales so that we are prepared to shop that day like it’s our job.
Maybe this is an accurate picture of the next couple days for us. Or, maybe it doesn’t look like this at all. Either way, this holiday reminds us to ask ourselves this question: What are we thankful for?
Our initial thoughts may be the physical things we are thankful for: food, water, shelter, clothes, work, etc. They may be the relationships we have: our families, our friends, our church, etc.
It’s not wrong for us to be thankful for these blessings in our lives. Actually, we should be thankful as we acknowledge that our heavenly Father is the giver of every good and perfect gift.
However, as we were reminded this past Sunday, the temptation is for us to make these things our ultimate treasure, whether it be the food we eat, the jobs we have, or even the families we love.
What are you most thankful for? What is your ultimate treasure? “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
While we thank God for the seen and unseen blessings in our lives, we are called to thank God for the greatest treasure of all: Himself.
Jesus is the ultimate treasure that lasts for eternity and will never be taken away. Once He becomes greater, all the other treasures in our lives become lesser. As Lemmel writes in her hymn, “the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
How can we make Jesus our greatest treasure? How can we not be tempted to make the things of earth our ultimate treasure?
It’s to realize that we were Jesus’ treasure first. He made us His cherished possession first. He left the glories and treasures of heaven to become a man in this broken world for us first. He died for us, His enemies, first, so that we may become His treasured people.
Once we experience Jesus’ treasuring of us first, we can then make Him our greatest treasure, and all the other treasures are put in their rightful place.
So, whether your Thanksgiving will be extremely busy or painfully boring, take some time to thank God for all the blessings in your life. Most of all, humbly and worshipfully, give thanks to God for the greatest treasure of all: Himself.
Happy Thanksgiving, New Life. My family and I give thanks to God for you. Enjoy this holiday, and let’s gather together for worship this Lord’s Day as we adore our heavenly Father together.
In Christ,
Pastor Tim
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