Season of Thankfulness

Season of Thankfulness
Pastor Aaron Robinson

Thanksgiving is considered the beginning of the holiday season.  We know the season has started because Christmas Trees go up, holiday sounds start, and the sales begin.   The fourth Thursday in November isn’t just about food, football, and family it kicks off the season of thankfulness.  

What is the season of thankfulness you ask? A period of grace, gratitude, and generosity.
  
As the calendar year draws to a close many are trying to figure out what happened and what will happen in the coming year.  We are reflecting on how we made it over.  We recognize the grace we have been given that we did not earn.  This is reason to be Thankful.

Think about all that you did that wasn’t pleasing to God and all you didn’t do that God needed you to do.  God showed you grace, something you didn’t deserve; the very grace you withheld from others.  We should be thankful God loves us enough to forgive and forget our transgressions.
 
The grace you received should make you grateful.  God’s grace is reason to have an attitude of gratitude.  If we would just focus on the things we have rather than what we lack our thankfulness would be through the roof.  We have received unmerited favor and unconditional love by God which is reason enough to move with a sense of gratitude as this year closes and a new one begins.  Our gratitude comes from our humility, an understanding that God has shown us favor despite our actions.  

Our gratitude should bloom generosity.  The more thankful we are, the more generous we should be.  When we think of the goodness of God our desires should be to reflect that goodness by paying it forward.  Generosity grows from gratitude and is feed by grace.  When we are generous, we are acting as an agent of the Kingdom of God.  The more grace you receive the more grateful you are which makes you more generous.
 
As we move into this holiday season let us be intentional about our attitude and actions.  Let’s move in the spirit of grace, with an attitude of gratitude and a desire to share what God has given us.   We should be thankful in every season, especially the one where we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.  By his grace and mercy, we live.  Each day we should be thankful of the sacrifice he made and generosity he showed by laying down his life for our sin.