Ephesians 1:15-23

Read today's passage on BibleGateway.com.

I think it's appropriate on a day like Memorial Day to discuss something simple like giving thanks. We thank our troops and our veterans on Memorial Day for the sacrifices they've made, sometimes giving up their lives, to protect our nation and safeguard freedom. They deserve thanks on every day of the year, yet we tend to be so forgetful and self-absorbed that we had to carve out a specific holiday to remind us to say "thank you".

So it is with God. The author dips into a prayer -- or at least, a description of his prayers of late -- in the final verses of the first chapter. And what does he start with? "I have not stopped giving thanks for you." The author recognizes that all things, even (and especially) people are a gift from Christ to his children, and as such, are deserving of unrelenting praise. Does the author need an excuse to say "thank you"? A special day? A momentous occasion? Nope -- he just keeps on giving thanks.

I envision it a bit like a tide. The blessings flow out from God in waves, sometimes powerfully, sometimes almost invisibly. But they do wash over us, saturate our lives, give us reason for celebration. And what thanksgiving do we send back when the tide recedes? Probably a trickle, if you're anything like me. Probably a thin stream of "Oh yeah, by the way God, thanks for that thing."

So today I thank my God for my life, for people who care about me, for my wife, my ability to live without starving or freezing to death, the opportunity to minister to others, my family, the joys of writing and gaming and reading, my country and my faith. I hope I can grow more and more thankful instead of hording up all the blessings to myself.