Dear JWC family and friends,
The month of November is probably best known for the Thanksgiving holiday. It is also the month where we observe Veterans Day, and – this year – the end of Daylight Savings Time. On the surface, however, I'm not sure that these three events are as distinctive as they should be.
Veterans Day is a day when we remember those who have served out nation, giving up their comforts and health in order to ensure that we can live in a free nation. For this, we should be thankful.
Daylight Savings Time reminds us that time does not stand still, and that we must redeem the time that we have, as times change – whether foreseen or unforeseen.
And then there is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has an interesting history. It was established as a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln on October 3, 1863, in the midst of the Civil War. Although a strange time to think of thankfulness, Lincoln recognized that even in the midst of strife, the Nation had much for which to be thankful. Long before the Civil War, America had celebrated Thanksgiving in non-national celebrations, originating the 17th century. Interestingly, while our traditional Thanksgiving celebration is modeled after the 1621 harvest feast at Plymouth, colonists actually celebrated multiple “Thanksgivings,” based on a number of circumstances – not only in gratitude for harvests, but also for physical security, the end of droughts, and other life circumstances.
So, we find the national holiday was established as a time to be thankful in spite of war. The tradition of thanksgiving also included reflections on God’s grace after drought or loss. In both cases, war and loss, the changing and exceedingly difficult times did not impede thankfulness, but rather, demanded it. No matter the circumstances, there was cause to remember that God is good, gracious, and giving. And we should be thankful for that.
Thanksgiving celebrations may have taken a certain shape in America’s history, but God’s people have always been called upon to remember His many blessings and lift up praises of thanksgiving to Him. Sacrifices were lifted up in recognition that the small portion of the sacrifice was simply a sliver of the abundant blessings of the Lord towards His people (Leviticus 7). Even in times of anxiety, prayers were filled with thanksgiving by the early church (Philippians 4:6). God’s people throughout time are reminded to sing with joy and thanksgiving:
“Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms! For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods.” (Psalm 95:2-3 NASB)
As we enter into this month of Thanksgiving, I wanted to lift up a special thanks to each of you who have joined with the John Witherspoon College by sharing your financial support and prayers with us. We have faced, and continue to face, real challenges – financially, in recruitment, in publicity – but we face these challenges fully aware of how you have graciously supported us and how God has continued to work through us and with us.
We are indeed thankful – to you who walk this path with us and to our God who sustains and blesses us. And ultimately, our greatest thanks is not for these things, but for what the Christ gave the world more than 2,000 years ago on a cross and through an empty tomb! How good it is to serve together a God who gives so much, a Christ who gives life, and that life, abundantly! Let us celebrate Thanksgiving, not just on one day each year, but every day of our lives!
Gratefully yours in Christ,