Giving thanks is more than praise. This also includes appreciating what we have and using and sharing it with others. Recently, the Chief Apostle spoke about the gifts of the triune God.
If you buy your food in the supermarket, it is easy to forget where it comes from before it lands in the shelf—from a manufacturer, someone who converts the raw ingredients. But before all that there is still the good old rule of sowing and reaping. And behind that is the Creator. This is how Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider described it on 6 October 2024 in Flensburg in Germany.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1: 17). This was the Bible text he used in the divine service. And this applies in three ways.
Triple sowing
“The origin of all things is God, our Creator,” the Chief Apostle said. “We thank the Creator for the life He gives us and for everything we need to be able to live this life,” he continued.
But we also thank God the Son for His seed. This seed is the kingdom of God, the gospel. We thank Him for His sacrifice. We thank Him for establishing the church of Christ.
And we thank God the Holy Spirit. This also involves seedtime and harvest. The Holy Spirit has placed divine life in us, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the new life of Jesus Christ, which allows us to grow into the image of Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of God.
Unchanging right up to the harvest
James says here that God is faithful. That is another reason to thank God, the Chief Apostle said. The Creator is faithful. “He continues to care for us, even if we want absolutely nothing more to do with Him.”
God the Son is faithful. “He continues to care for His church, continues to be with His Apostles, continues to stand by His gospel, and His sacrifice is effective for all human beings.” And the Holy Spirit? “He wants to complete what He has begun in you and in me,” the Chief Apostle said.
The gift of joy
“We owe everything to the grace of God,” the Chief Apostle said. Everything we have comes from God. This is a gift from God. It is undeserved, a grace. And it is grace that we can recognise Jesus Christ, that we can believe. It is grace that we have been chosen. “And finally, when we enter the kingdom of God, it is definitely not something we have earned. It is and remains a grace,” the Chief Apostle said.
Another aspect of Thanksgiving is that God says, “Be happy about all of this. You don’t need to have any scruples, no guilty conscience. Enjoy your election, enjoy and rejoice in the promise, in the future.” And this joy makes us grateful.
Unity through sharing
“How can we thank the Lord?” the Chief Apostle asked and answered:
- “Let us worship and praise Him, even if things are not going so well in our lives right now.”
- “Let us give Him something. Let’s bring our offerings.” But not out of obligation or guilt, nor out of calculation, but out of joy.
- Let us appreciate the gifts of God. “Let’s not do anything stupid with our life, our health, the environment, our own soul, or in our congregation.”
- “Let us also to take the gifts we have received and do good with them. Let’s use our lives, our strength, our money, and our time to do good. That is the best way to say thank you.”
Once we realise that everything we have comes from God and that He is faithful, then all fear and anxiety should really disappear, Chief Apostle Schneider said. Let us trust the giver of all things. We have enough to do good. Even if others receive the same, they take nothing away from us.
This strengthens unity, the Chief Apostle said. “God has given us everything. However, He also loves our neighbour as much as He loves us. See, that which unites us is far greater than that which divides us.”
