Giving Thanks...Jesus set the example for us..."And he took bread, gave thanks (eucharisteo) and broke it, and gave it to them..." (Luke 22:19). The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning "grace". Jesus took the bread and saw it as "grace" and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be "gift" and gave thanks.
Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, includes the Greek word for grace, charis, but it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning "JOY"...Ah..yes I might be needing some of that today (and tomorrow and the next day, etc...) Has this been the goal of a fuller life, to find JOY...in everything?
Deep chara joy is found only at the table of the enCHARisteo - the table of thanksgiving. Do I want to sit down at that table? It would mean complete submission, giving complete control of myself to my savior and accepting every event, good or bad, with thanksgiving.
Is the height of my chara joy dependent on the depths of my eucharisteo thanks? Is it really that simple??? That's what scripture tell us, "giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.." (Eph 5:21)
Soooo, if it's that simple what makes it so hard to do??? Oh yeah, we're made up of sinful flesh, that is kept alive by our pride...yes pride...that's the monster under the bed.
Today my goal is to keep the monster locked in the closet so that I can look at everything with eyes tinting with thanksgiving; I want more chara JOY today...tonight when I close my eyes I want to be able to smile and say "Today was NOT all about me"!
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