As I bow my head to give thanks before this Thursday's Thanksgiving meal, I’ll likely be grateful for the “big” things in life. Things like family and friends, health and possessions.
If I'm not careful, that could cause me to overlook some other "minor" things in my prayer. Things like the common, everyday gifts right under my nose. Like:
*hot showers
*the Sunday morning newspaper
*good parking spaces
*car window defrosters
*a new toothbrush
*fresh laundry
*a good nap
These things are perhaps "smaller" than other gifts, but still worthy of gratitude to God. According to the Bible, all good things come from Him.
John 1:3 says that “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made.”
James 1:17 adds that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.”
That means every “good” gift - like a comfortable pair of slippers, timely sunshine, and a bedtime snack - and other “little” things in life. They all come from God, just like the other “bigger” ones we normally thank Him for.
It’s true that God’s greatest gift to people is forgiveness of sins when they accept Jesus as savior. That’s the most important one. But these other things are gifts from Him, too.
I’m trying to remember that truth as we head into the holiday season.
*****
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that no of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
