Happy Thanksgiving (Part 2)

“Happy thanksgiving!” becomes an empty greeting in the face of so many difficulties and trials. All of us have been faced with challenges and hardships that seemed to take away all hope and joy. There is a way to transcend the worries of the moment. While it is true that we must never lose our sense of “present tense,” we must also balance that with a knowledge that this moment is not all there is in life. We are destined for so much more in the gift of eternal life that awaits us through Christ.

Lavonn Brown, in his book, The Other Half of of the Rainbow, wrote, “Every year thousands of people climb a mountain in the Italian Alps, passing the stations of the cross to stand at an outdoor crucifix. One tourist noticed a little trail that led beyond the cross. He fought through the rough thicket and, to his surprise, came upon another shrine, a shrine that symbolized the empty tomb. It was neglected. The brush had grown up around it. Almost everyone had gone as far as the cross, but there they stopped. Far too many have gotten to the cross and have known the despair and the heart break. Far too few have moved beyond the cross to find the real message of Easter. That is the message of the empty tomb.”

Today’s verse comes from the psalms. It is a declaration of David in the midst of his flight from Saul. Perhaps it will speak to you as much as it did me.

I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!” Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful. The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. (Psalm 116:1-9 ESV).

That’s the balance! There is a sense in which we must live here and now, but we must not forget that we are destined for the then and there. Regardless of how bad this life may get at times, we have the promise of eternal life. A little boy was offered the opportunity to select a dog for his birthday present. At the pet store, he was shown a number of puppies. From them he picked one whose tail was wagging furiously. When he was asked why he selected that particular dog, the little boy said, "I wanted the one with the happy ending." There is a happy ending to our lives with Christ as our Savior. That makes the possibility of a “Happy thanksgiving!”

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58 ESV).

So, today, start looking for the “happy ending!” And, then have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!