Reflections by the Pond
November 26, 2003

Giving Thanks, Part Four
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The Joy Set Before Us

Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
We all growl like bears,
And moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them. Isaiah 59:9-12 nkjv

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the United States--a pleasant holiday during which we gather together with family and friends to feast upon and give thanks for our bounty--mostly in the form of plenteous food. Preparing to write something about this time of blessing and abundance, I am faced with, instead, morning headlines that lead me into an uneasy depression over the condition of society today.

  • Groups in the United States want to legalize and legitimize gay "marriage," placing it on equal footing with marriage between a man and a woman.

  • State, county, and local authorities routinely sanction--in the spirit of "tolerance" and "inclusion"--events and displays that celebrate the virtues of the Islamic faith, but just as routinely denounce the Christian faith, and severely restrict any public displays that celebrate its traditions.

  • In many countries around the world, people are still being tortured and murdered for the sole reason that they are believers in Christ.

    I read these reports that describe a world so different from the quiet life around the pond, and I wonder how, during this time of thanksgiving, God would have me respond. Should I be grateful that I haven't any children being indoctrinated into lifestyles in opposition to my own beliefs? Should I be thankful that I don't live in Sudan? How am I to respond to a world that so hates my Lord?

    Jesus had the answer:

    "Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets." Luke 6:22-23 nasbu

    My thanksgiving this year comes from the knowledge that all of this will pass away. My joy comes from knowing that my life, ultimately, is defined and controlled not by passing events and trials that surround me here, but by an eternal Father in heaven.

    I may rejoice in the opportunity to somehow affect troubling events for good while I am here; God may use me to further His Kingdom while this earth and its ways are still here. But my true thanksgiving will be found in looking beyond these transient tribulations, toward the joy set before me in the place He has already prepared.