You know, last Sunday here at Calvary we had our first ever community-wide Thanksgiving Dinner. It was amazing as we joined close to 200 people for a meal and some great conversations. We had the chance to sit down with some folks who had never been inside this building and we had one particular conversation that seemed very unlikely for a place like Monte Vista, Colorado.
In the process of helping one of our families move on Saturday, we met a couple who had recently relocated to the San Luis Valley from India. As we talked on Saturday morning, we invited them to our Dinner and they expressed interest in coming by for a visit. They showed up on Sunday and as we sat, ate pie, and talked they began to ask questions: "What is the difference between Catholic and Baptist? What do you do to lead people in a church service? What is the belief of Baptist people? Can we come to your Christmas service?" As we talked, we journeyed from the very beginnings of the Christian faith to Constantine's Edict recognizing and accepting the organized church, through the Reformation and into the modern era of church life. We talked about Jesus and grace and faith as a gift of God; we discussed the simplicity of the Gospel message and the relevance of Jesus to Christians today. At the end of the conversation, they walked away with four things: one book by Ravi Zacharias...they were so excited to read the thoughts of a fellow Indian; one leadership book by John Maxwell; their first Bible which they warmly accepted and expressed great desire to explore; and finally, a new perspective on Christianity and an open invitation to ask any question they could think of without fear of resentment or anger. As they left with hugs from their new found friends at Calvary, we sent them out with a prayer of thankfulness that the Holy Spirit was beginning a work to draw them to Himself opening a new door to transformation which they had never even heard of before that day.
You know, in this season there are a lot of different things to be thankful for: our health, our homes, our family, warm fires, food on the table, clothes on our back, etc. If we're truly honest we can make list and list and list of things for which to say thank you. But the reality for those that follow Christ is that all of our possessions and all of our comforts pale in comparison to the salvation that He alone has provided to His Followers. Jesus puts everything in perspective: if we take all of our "things" away, if we lacked even the basic necessities of living as we perceive it, and still had Christ we would be better off than the richest of individuals without a relationship with Him.
So as this Holiday Season commences, if you call yourself Christian today take a few minutes to thank God for His presence in your life. Thank Him for the legacy of parents who may have shared their faith with you introducing you to the God who loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you. Thank God for the person who introduced you to the One who not only redirected your eternity but transformed your present. Thankfulness is not only celebrated but it's a state of being, practicing God's presence and living under the constant illumination of the gift that Jesus is in the Believer's heart.
May your Thanksgiving be full of reminders of His grace and may it inspire you to walk alongside of someone this next year in the hopes that by next Thanksgiving many others will experience the joy of knowing what it means to be truly thankful.
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