Editorial November 21, 2016 ISSUE

The richest kind of thanksgiving

Barbara Vining

A day set aside for thanksgiving is traditional in the United States and in some other countries. And often it is a rich occasion for gatherings with family and friends. The most important thing, however, is the richness of our gratitude. The richest kind of thanksgiving is spiritual; it is gratitude for the goodness and love God bestows on each and every one of His dear children universally. This is gratitude any person can feel in their heart and express in their life, regardless of their present human circumstances—and when it is sincere, it brings increasing evidence of God’s goodness and care more fully into one’s life.

Perhaps it’s the measure of our sincerity that counts most when it comes to gratitude. This idea came rather poignantly to my attention as I pondered again some of the things Mary Baker Eddy says about gratitude. Take this statement in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, for example: “Action expresses more gratitude than speech” (p. 3). It was a moving reminder to me that, while it is indeed good to verbally express gratitude for our God-bestowed blessings—perhaps in a testimony at the Thanksgiving Day service in a Church of Christ, Scientist—the sincerity of our gratitude can only be measured by how fully we express our gratitude in the way we live.

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Bible Lens—November 21–27, 2016