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...the Bible tells me so:
“Pausing to Give Thanks”
My fondest memory of Thanksgiving was waking up to the wonderful aroma of turkey roasting in the oven. Mom would begin cooking dinner at four a.m. There was the turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes and giblet gravy, sweet peas and cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies and whip cream, and the rolls, oh those rolls! Somewhere between the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys, everything would be ready.
Then we would gather around the food and pause to give thanks. As “Amen” was said, Mom added, “You’ll have to fend for yourself for the rest of the day. I’m done cooking!”
For a kid who had been starving until early afternoon, that was music to my ears. I quickly finished my first plate of food. Then I raced my brother and sisters to attack the pumpkin pies and the rolls. We feasted on the turkey and dressing, and the mashed potatoes and gravy. By the end of the day I was no different than a stuffed turkey.
Prayer at the dinner table became an anchor in my life. No matter how busy I was in life, I always slowed down at mealtime to give thanks to God not only for His blessing of food but for the blessings of my family, my church and my life.
The Jews practiced mealtime prayers, normally before dinner but sometimes after.
We see this practice in the life of Jesus. When He miraculously fed the five thousand men along with women and children, “taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves” (Matthew 14:19 NIV; see Mark 6:41; Luke 9:16; John 6:11, 23). When He miraculously fed the four thousand, “He took the seven loaves and the fish, and when He had given thanks, He broke them” (Matthew 15:36; see Mark 8:6-7).
When Jesus instituted the memorial supper in honor of Himself, the Scriptures say, “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ ” (Matthew 26:26-27; see Mark 14:22-23; Luke 22:17, 19; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:24)
We are not surprised that after the resurrection, Jesus continued the practice of giving thanks before a meal. When Jesus was about to eat with two disciples traveling to Emmaus, “He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them” (Luke 24:30).
As we continue to read our New Testaments, we learn that the practice of offering thanks to God for our food was both taught (see Romans 14:5; 1 Corinthians 10:30) and practiced (Acts 27:35).
There was a time when men were binding ascetic practices on Christians, such as abstaining from certain kinds of foods/meat. Paul answered that “God created [them] to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:3-5).
God has always wanted His people to be thankful (Colossians 3:15) for everything (Ephesians 5:20) and in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
I ask you to pause to give thanks to God for the food that He has provided for you (see Matthew 6:11). I ask you to pause to give thanks to God not only in private but in public as well. No, this is not a request to make a show of your religion. This is a request that you not be ashamed to offer thanks to God, whether in public or in private. The time to give thanks to God is at the dinner table, at the picnic table and at the restaurant table. Let’s make this holiday a life change of Thanksgiving.
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