Contact: Autumn Black, Director, Public Relations, American Bible Society, 212-408-1215, ablack@americanbible.org
OPINION, Nov. 25 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by R. Lamar Vest:
Someone recently defined Thanksgiving as "that forgotten holiday that falls between Halloween and Christmas." That may be truer than some of us would care to admit. I watched our local shopping mall move from Halloween to Christmas decorations without so much as a hint that the fourth Thursday of November had any special significance. Maybe that's because it is easier to sell costumes and gifts than it is to sell thankfulness.
This year has been one full of dichotomies: upward vision in a downturned economy, a buyers market yet increased homelessness, temporary hope for some and unrelenting sorrows for many. To some, all seems lost - the economy, jobs, income, retirement, savings, homes and health care.
Come to think of it, the very first Thanksgiving Day was probably filled with a bit of a conflicting outlook. It came at a time when people were freezing and starving. There was the challenge of settling a new country and the reality that things weren't going well.
So why were they thankful? They were thankful for what God had provided in specific detail and they were thankful for the hope He had given them for the future. Circumstances say, "While there is life there is hope." The Christian says, "Only where there is hope is there life."
The American Day of Thanksgiving and The American Bible Society have a strong connection. Elias Boudinot of Burlington, the first President of the American Bible Society, understood the necessity of thankfulness despite challenges. On September 25, 1789 he introduced the case for giving thanks to the United States House of Representatives through a resolution "that a joint committee of both Houses be directed to wait upon the President of the United States, to request that he would recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a Constitution of government for their safety and happiness."
On October 3, 1789 George Washington issued a proclamation designating a day of prayer and thanksgiving. The country was not perfect, societal ills not solved, but many were still thankful.
The Bible illustrates this privilege through the stories of people that suffered great loss: Job, Ruth, Joseph, Hannah, David and Christ Himself. However, these grateful souls never took for granted the benefit of joy in the midst of sorrow, gratitude in the midst of trials - the privilege of giving thanks.
How could we possibly forget a holiday that reminds us to appreciate each other and give thanks for the blessings in our lives? I encourage you and your family to take time on Thanksgiving Day to thank God for all you have in specific detail. Allow that tradition to influence every part of your life, not just now, but also in the future.
May the Word of God be a source from which gratitude is found this holiday season as you remember the "signal favors" of Almighty God towards you.
About Dr. R. Lamar Vest
Dr. R. Lamar Vest is the newly elected President of the American Bible Society. He has been a long-term leader in the development and expansion of the Bible mission both here in the United States and around the world.
