Thanks Living

I write in on my arm in permanent marker Thanksgiving Day.  Because I need always to be reminded.

Eucharisteo.  It is a Greek word that means "giving thanks".

It is a compound word made up of the adverb, "eu", which means "to do well, to prosper"....and "charisteo", meaning "to give freely, to give in favor toward".  The root word of "charisteo" is "charis", which means "grace".

In Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts, she delves deeper into the meaning of eucharisteo.  In Luke 22:19, when Jesus shares the last meal with His disciples before His death, we read,  "And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them..."  In the original language, "he gave thanks" reads "eucharisteo".

Eucharisteo holds the Greek word for grace, but it also holds its derivative, the Greek word "chara", meaning "joy".  So we see then that grace and joy are inseparably woven into the fabric of thanksgiving.

On that night when He was to be betrayed, Jesus took the bread and gave thanks.  Knowing this bread was a picture of His body, this wine a picture of His blood, of His life broken and poured out, spilled out for us.  He took this offering of His life, in all its suffering, as a gift from God, as "charis"....grace.  Seeing the "chara"....joy, set before Him....the joy of our redemption, of the claiming of His pure and spotless bride.  And He gave thanks.  Eucharisteo.  On His darkest night, Jesus gave thanks.  He opened his eyes and His hands to grace.  He received joy.  And then He told us.

"Do this to remember Me."

Do what?  Eucharisteo.  Give thanks.  See grace.  Find joy.  The only way to live fully right where you are.  The way of those who live in Christ.  And we live in Him because He offered Himself up as our bread, and He gave thanks in His own breaking, and He saw the gift of grace in His pain, and He embraced the coming joy.  This joy our Creator chose for Himself....the restoration of unbroken fellowship with us.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln set aside one day a year as a national holiday of giving thanks for the abundant blessings of God on this land and its people.  And it's a fine thing to celebrate with a special day of feasting, fellowship, and worship.  In the Old Testament, God gave the Jewish people special festivals of celebration throughout the year, as times of worship and remembrance.  Sadly, for most Americans, I fear Thanksgiving Day has become a day to celebrate food, football, and the biggest retail holiday of the year.

Over 2000 years ago, Jesus sat around a table with His closest friends, those who did the will of His Father and were thus, as He said, His mother and brothers and sisters.  They shared a special meal of remembrance together, and they passed around the common, everyday elements of bread and wine, symbols of life....and Jesus proclaimed that "as often as you do this....remember Me."  1 Corinthians 11:25.

As often as you eat and drink.  Every day.  Remember.  Every day.  Give thanks.  More than a tradition or a ritual.  It is life to you.  Every day is a day of giving thanks.  A day of living thanks.   And if we don't live our thanks every day?  We aren't really living.

Charis.  Grace.  Open your eyes today and see the gifts, the grace, the undeserved favor of God all around you.  Name them.  Write them down so you'll remember.  On a page,  On a screen.  On the wall.  On your arm.  Count to one thousand and keep going.  Don't stop.  Let the naming of grace, the giving of thanks, be like breathing.

Eucharisteo.  Give thanks.  Wherever you are today.  In the midst of your mess.  Give thanks to God simply for being God.  Give thanks for His life giving you life.  Offer your life back to Him in this moment, even in brokenness.

Chara.  Joy.  The miracle of deep, abiding joy always comes through the embracing of grace and the offering of thanks.  In the presence of God there is fullness of joy.  Psalm 16:11  Joy is God's life.  Joy is your life.  Augustine said, "Without exception...all try their hardest to reach the same goal, that is, joy".  God created us for joy.  And we receive that joy when we live fully in Him.

So have a joyful thanksgiving day.  A thanksliving day.  Remember.  Offer.  Celebrate.  Eucharisteo.