May 7, 2024
From our home to yours, may the Lord bless you with an outstanding Thanksgiving!
This has long been one of my favorite seasons. Yes, for the obvious reasons: turkey, cornbread dressing, giblet gravy, green bean and sweet potato casseroles, pecan pie ... shall I go on? We will enjoy having all 17 of our immediate family in our home for a huge dinner and fun laughing, chatting and playing with the grandkids. Thanksgiving for us has been about family, about being together, but for what ultimate purpose? The purpose is to give thanks to the One Who supplies all of our need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).
This Thanksgiving, as at other such times when we thank God for His bountiful blessings, I think about the people of the world, many of whom I have seen, who are in want. They do not have warm homes to live in, nor do they have tables laden with multiple dishes of food; they are cold and hungry. They are in war zones, living in danger.
So many are without the greatest cause for giving thanks, a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus. Not all of these people are over seas. Many live right here in Georgia.
So, what can we do about it? The answer to that question is found in a word that represents the heart of God, and everyone who wants to emulate the heart of God. That word is GENEROSITY.
It is the person with a generous heart who makes the difference for people in a nearby neighborhood, or on the other side of the world. Is this the year you will put together a basket of food for someone in your town who will be without a Thanksgiving dinner unless some loving soul, like you, is generous enough and cares enough to pack a box of food and deliver it? Those of you who prepared backpacks for the children of Appalachia have probably heard that some of those backpacks this year will supply the needs of children living in poverty right here in Georgia. Thank you for caring. Thank you for being generous. The best way to tell people that God loves them is to demonstrate it.
I want to express special appreciation to our churches and associations that have food pantries that make food available for people who are hungry. Jesus taught that as you minister to the hungry, you minister to Him. Powerful statement!
What about those people on the other side of the country, or on the other side of the oceans? How do we reach them? I’m so glad you asked. We have an amazing team of missionaries, North American and International, who are reaching needs across the world. Once again, the word “generous” comes into play.
Through your generous missions giving through the Cooperative Program and through the special mission offerings you can, and you are, supplying the needs of people worldwide. That is why it is so important to increase your generosity in mission support through missions giving.
Can we really sit at our tables this Thanksgiving and never give a thought to the lost and hungry of the world beyond our front yard and to the ends of the earth?
