Thanksgiving Reflections:
November 25, 2010
I recently was struck by Deuteronomy 6:11. I know you might think how can anyone get anything out of Deuteronomy that is relevant for today? Or, what does Deuteronomy have to do with Thanksgiving?
Well take a look at Deuteronomy 6:11 with me, and maybe you too, will find it to be a reflective Thanksgiving passage.
Deuteronomy 6:11
You walk into large, bustling cities you didn’t build, well furnished houses you didn’t buy. ~The Message
Houses are filled with all sorts of goods [or food] that you did not fill [or work hard to get]. ~NRSV
Now I’m sure you had to buy your house, and you had to fill it with goods; but I bet you didn’t have to do all the work. There had to have been some people go before you. For instances, our houses or lets say even our refrigerators are filled with all sorts of goods. The majority of us didn’t get up today or yesterday to milk a cow for the whip cream we will put on our pie this afternoon. In addition, probably none of us killed the turkey we will be eating later on today – someone went before us! Someone did the work.
Who has gone before you?
Maybe you’re a pastor and the person who went before you labored hours and hours to plant a church. Maybe you’re a successful businessperson because of an entrepreneur’s vision and dream. Maybe you’re a student who is privileged to listen to knowledge from professors who have thought, studied, and written countless hours. Overall, so many people have gone before us to make our day, our work, and life a lot easier! Granted, I know I can’t give all the credit to the people who have gone before us because we still have to labor to keep things going. However, I challenge you to think where or who you would be if someone hadn’t gone before you? And, if you are that someone who is plowing the way for others to follow – thank you – keep plowing!
I truly believe if we reflect on the work people have done before us, we should find something to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving
