A Time of Thanksgiving...

As another Thanksgiving Day comes to a close I reflect on that which I am thankful for this past year. There's been so much to be thankful for, yet the most important thing, I think, has been a more constant realization, or awareness, that I am man and God is God. I think that all too often we get caught up in life, in ourselves, and forget that we are merely man; flawed, sinful, twisted, and weak. We look only to ourselves, at ourselves, or compare ourselves to other men and get a demented view of who we really are. We are man- we are faulted and weak, and viewed next to the awesome perfection of God we are shamed and laid bare in our shortcomings. Yet God is God- he is and has always been love, always forgiveness, always mercy. He doesn't judge us with the same small-mindeness that so exemplifies our treatment of each other, rather he is perfect in his response to us. And then, when we realize our place in the relationship, when we humble ourselves before Him, when we choose him over ourselves, then the relationship is righted and restored. It is our confession that we are man that allows his love and forgiveness to freely flow, and that realization is what I am most thankful for this year. As Jonah so eloquently put it, "Those who cling to worthless idols (ie. anything that seperates us from God) forfeits the grace that could be theirs" (2:9). Thank-you Father, for your grace and mercy, for loving such a man as me. Your grace is sufficient for me. Amen.