The Bible Speaks to You November 25, 1967 Issue

[The above is an abbreviated, postprodurtion text of the program released for broadcast the week of November 17—23 in the radio series, "The Bible Speaks to You." Heard internationally over more than 1,000 stations, the weekly programs are prepared and produced by the Christian Science Committee on Publication, 107 Falmouth Street, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 02115.]

RADIO PROGRAM NO. 294 - "In every thing give thanks"

Thanksgiving just doesn't always come easily.
Speaker: That's true, especially if we base our gratitude just on material things, our possessions, or other people.
Questioner: Yes, at this particular time of year so many prayers of thanksgiving seem to stress material things, perhaps ignoring the spiritual.
Speaker: We're apt to do that; but, you know, it's far more important to be grateful for what our potential is as an individual, that is, what we really are rather than what we have. And this is a real remedy for discontentment.
Questioner: People think they know who they are, and perhaps that's the problem. Many times we just don't like what we know about ourselves.
Speaker: What we really are, though, is what God made man to be—the very likeness of God. The Bible brings that out in the first chapter of Genesis. And we get glimpses of this real nature of man through such qualities as integrity, unselfish love, forgiveness, and intelligence. These all point to man's God-given nature as spiritual, not mortal, as God's witness or expression. The Bible says (Isa. 43: 10), "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord."

We are actually here to express God, to express His qualities. What would you term a quality of God in human experience?
Questioner: Goodness, love, and kindness.
Speaker: That's right. They would not have anything to do with our possessions, would they? Whether I had a large bank account or a small one couldn't interfere with my expression of forgiveness.

Knowing who man really is gives us a basis for putting gratitude into action in the way Paul indicated in these words (I Thess. 5:18): "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Words of Current Interest