Miscellaneous: When God Remembers - Ben

“But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the Ark. And God made a wind blow over the Earth, and the waters subsided.”

Genesis 8:1 

This verse comes at a pivotal point in the story of Noah. We go from waters rising and conquering the Earth like some unstoppable horde in Genesis 7 to those same waters receding and retreating like a defeated enemy in Genesis 8. It is a curious verse in that we're told that God "remembered." After reading something like that, we're immediately struck with the implication that God had forgotten Noah. But we know that can’t be right. After all, God is all-knowing. He cannot forget anything since He has knowledge of all things. So, there must be some deeper meaning.

Interestingly, the Hebrew term translated as “remember” in our passage is za-kar'. Obviously, it does have the connotation that someone has forgotten but remembers something (cf. Gen. 40:23; 42:9; Num. 11:5; Deut. 9:7; Judge. 8:34; 2 Chron. 24:22). However, there are a few places where “remember” deviates from our conventional understanding of the term.  Rather than the word meaning something akin to recalling a memory, it also has the connotation that someone is being mindful, cognizant, or attentive (cf. Ex. 20:8; Ps. 20:7; 63:6; 103:14; 119:52, 55). Not surprisingly, this latter implication is how we should understand that God “remembered” Noah. It isn't that he had forgotten those on the Ark. Instead, we should realize that God turned his attention away from the flood and focused it toward those within the ark. 

In fact, without fail, every time we read that God “remembered” someone in the Scriptures, we’re also told that He then acted. For instance, rather than allow Abraham and Lot to be destroyed along with Sodom, God “remembered” them and delivered them from a fiery demise (cf. Gen. 19:29). Or, how about how God “remembered” Rachel and so gave her a baby boy named Joseph (cf. Gen. 30:24). Another example comes in the Exodus story where, after 400 years of bondage, God “remembered” His covenant with the Israelites and set them free from their Egyptian enslavement (cf. Ex. 6:5). And, lastly, the Bible tells us about a woman named Hannah who, like Rachel, was without a child. She cried out to God, and then, we're told, that the Lord “remembered” her by giving her a son named Samuel (cf. 1 Sam. 1:11, 19).

Rather than being some negligent father, God is a Good Father who is attentive to his creation. Sometimes, that means chastisement; but that also means the Lord shows mercy. This is not because creation is worthy of such treatment. Instead, it is because our God is gracious.

One of the most unbelievable principles in the Scriptures is that the Lord’s thoughts tend toward us. Indeed, long before our own mothers knew the sound of our voice, God tuned it to His liking. He is the one who colored our hair. He whittled the very contours of our fingerprints. He shaped the folds of our minds. And he even stitched our very seams together (cf. Psa. 13-14). Though marred by fall’s scar, our Creator God still loves us. It’s a love that makes no sense. But it is a love that I am eternally grateful for. When God remembers, all of humanity ought to stand in utter bewilderment. 

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the Son of man that you care for him?"

Psalm 8:3-4 

Redefining Thankfulness - Stephen

As Thanksgiving quickly approaches I wonder—had the holiday been established today would it be called Thanks-taking instead? 

 

You see when it comes to the idea of thankfulness we all like the concept. For who wouldn’t like to be shown more appreciation? But in a world where everyone is consumed with being on the receiving end of things, thanksgiving becomes a rarity. 

 

To give thanks one must remove their sight from oneself and place it upon another human being. This includes setting aside the lack of appreciation we might feel ourselves as a parent, a spouse, an employee, etc. In addition, one must also believe that what someone else has done for them is not something they must do, but something they have chosen to do.

 

Isn’t it interesting that true thankfulness is always tied to a sense of unworthiness? Think about it—for one to give sincere thanks one must believe that what was given them was not because of their own greatness, but because of someone else’s kindness. It is then, and only then, that true thanksgiving exists. 

 

With this in mind, how can one measure the sincerity of a “thank you?” Personally, I have little idea. But, as a parent on Halloween, I do have a clear idea of what an awkward, forced, insincere giving of thanks looks like:

“Son, what do you say when someone gives you something?”

“But I don’t like this flavor.”

“But what do you say anyway?”

“You want me to lie?”

“No. I want you to be thankful.”

“Fine. Thank you for this flavor of candy I won’t eat.”

[Insert face-palm here.]

 

On the other hand, I think the Apostle Paul gave us a clue of what sincere thanks embodies when he was writing his second letter to the church in Corinth. As sort of a concluding statement, Paul reveals this clue when he says:

“Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

 2 Corinthians 9:15

The key to judging the sincerity of Paul’s thanks here is in the last two words of that phrase. 

 

First, the word “unspeakable” implies his desire to describe and commemorate something that words fail. Have you ever been given something and left speechless with gratitude—on the receiving end of a marriage proposal, a mere warning instead of a speeding ticket after going 40 over the limit, or the hopeful news from the doctor who just informed you that the cancer treatment was successful and you are now in remission? This speechlessness comes when the recipient feels overwhelmed with gratitude either with surprise or a sense of relief.  Unspeakable was Paul’s honest response as he remembers the grace shown by God Himself in sending His Son to die for Paul’s own sin. 

 

Secondly, Paul also uses the word “gift” to describe what had been given to him. This implies something that is unearned, undeserved, and, as already alluded to, the recipient unworthy. A gift that is deserved does not exist; that would be a reward or payment. No one looks at their paycheck after a long hard week of work filled with a lack of sleep and calloused hands and calls it a gift. It was earned. In contrast, as Paul once again humbly looks back on the giving of God’s Son in light of his own sinful failures he distinctively and meticulously calls it a gift. 

 

These two words reveal Paul’s sincere thankfulness to the One who gave. His concern in that sacred moment was in giving thanks, not in taking it. And if the lack of hearing “thank you” is any indication we are, in no doubt, surrounded by people who feel greatly unappreciated—an exhausted nurse, an overwhelmed schoolteacher, or a burned-out volunteer within your own church. So may we decide today to offer true and sincere thanks to those it is due. 

 

It may not always be as lofty as Paul’s example, but it should always be tied to a sense of honest gratitude and humble unworthiness. I can’t imagine a greater reason to do so than this:

“Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Acts 20:35c

 

More than stuffed turkeys and expanded waistlines this is how we will celebrate the holiday to its fullest. 

 

So, happy Thanks giving everyone!!

Redefining Thankfulness - Ron

When I think of thankfulness and thanksgiving, I am reminded of a line in an old song. The line is, "What were the words? Did he say Jesus Christ? Again and again until His name became trite?" Now, the song [by Five Iron Frenzy] has nothing to do with giving thanks. Rather, it is the idea of using a word or phrase so often that it loses all meaning. And I think this is what has happened with the word thanks.

Think about it. How many times a day do you mutter the phrase or its like? How many times has "thanks" passed your lips without a second thought? Is it possible that you have given thanks to someone without putting meaning or thought into the phrase at all? Could we be guilty of saying "thank you" without actually giving thanks?

I think all of the above happens on a regular basis. We thank the barista for our coffee out of habit and not because we are genuinely giving thanks for their work and service or even the work the beverage will do for our daily attitude and outlook. We are to the point now where we can thank people in real life without looking up from our devices. Some are experts at it. 

Take some time and really pay attention to your surroundings for one day. I think you will be surprised that even though you may hear a fair share of "hey, thanks," or, "thank-you," there is a pervading air of thanklessness in our society. The Bible describes this thanklessness as a mark of the end times in 2 Timothy 3:2. On this verse, Adam Clarke says, "Persons...who think they have a right to the services of all men, yet feel no obligation, and consequently no gratitude."

Does that not describe our society today?

Lest it describe us, we should recapture what thankfulness really means. To do that, I am going to look at the Greek word used often in Scripture to convey the meaning. The word thanks is εὐχαριστέω and it is used 39 times in the New Testament (KJV). The word for thanksgiving is close to it, and is εὐχαριστία. And, for good measure, the word εὐχάριστος is used once for thankful.

The words all essentially mean "to be grateful or convey gratitude." That is all well and good, but it is the Greek word within the words that caught my attention. Here are the words, with the interior word highlighted:

εὐχαριστέω

εὐχαριστία

εὐχάριστος

Anybody who knows even the tiniest bit of biblical Greek knows what word that is. Phonetically, it is charis, and it means grace. The word is used 156 times in the New Testament (KJV) and means "benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy)."

This is the "favour" that Mary found with God (Luke 1:30) and the "favour with God and man" in which Jesus increased (Luke 2:52). It is the same word used by Jesus three times in Luke 6:32-34, when He asks "what thanks have ye," essentially pointing out that there is no grace in loving, doing good to, and lending to, those that would do the same for us.

John uses the word three times in the first chapter of his gospel (vs. 14, 16-17). It is this χάρισ [grace] by which we are justified freely (Romans 3:24) and in which we stand (Romans 5:2). This is the grace that is sufficient for each one of us (2 Corinthians 12:9) and yet we can grow in it as well (2 Peter 1:2; 3:18).

But there is even more! The Greek word χάρισμα (charisma) also contains the word for grace. It is used seventeen times in the New Testament (KJV) and signifies a "divine gratuity, miraculous faculty, or, free gift." The last one is χαρίζομαι (used 23 times) which means "to grant as a favor, pardon or rescue, forgive."

You might be thoroughly confused as to what any of this has to do with recapturing a spirit of thankfulness. I hope to tie it all together here at the end, and maybe all of us will be edified in a new spirit of true gratitude.

Several years ago our family minivan was on its last leg. We didn't have much money, but we needed a new vehicle that would seat a family of six. If you've ever tried buying one of those then you know that they are not typically cheap. Through a series of circumstances, our church was selling a small SUV with third-row seating. It could seat seven, depending on the size of the three in the middle row. 

I went to our pastor and asked how much it would be to buy. He asked me to test drive it and then said he would get back to me. Later on in the day, he called me into his office and handed me the keys and the title to the vehicle. I was terribly confused, and nervous, because I hadn't actually thought about how I was going to pay for this vehicle and he never actually told me the price.

Then he said, "someone at the church has already paid for this vehicle. They asked us to donate it to someone in need. Today, I called them and explained your situation and asked them if your family could be the family. They said yes."

We asked a friend to create a special sticker for our vehicle. When it was finished, the word χάρισμα stretched across the back window. It served as a reminder for our family. One, this vehicle was a gift. Two, this vehicle was given in grace, for we neither earned nor deserved it. We explained to our kids the connection between the words and how the same sentiment pours over into our gratitude for the gift.

If we are to recapture what it means to be truly thankful, I submit that we must remember grace. We must meditate on the grace we have been shown and are shown each day. It is there in the gifts we give and receive. It is there in the gratitude we show and share. And if remembering God's grace doesn't cause us to be more intentional with our thankfulness, I don't know that anything will.

*Greek word definitions come from Strong's Concordance which is freely available online.

**The Five Iron Frenzy song is called Litmus and is track 10 on Our Newest Album Ever!