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Just
last Sunday a friend of mine was telling me that she was at a baby
shower where all the guests were given envelopes. They were each
instructed to print their name and address on the envelope. She was
told it would help with the “Thank You Cards”. My friend started
ranting about this and said, “It was all that I could do not to write,
‘Thank you so much for the baby outfit. It means so much that you
would take the time to come to our shower and write your own
Thank You Card.’” Apparently, the self-addressed ‘Thank You
Card’ is not a good idea. I never realized that there is an art
to writing a Thank You Card.
Fortunately, Abram was a little more astute than I am at expressing
gratitude. I am not sure that he ever attended a baby shower or for
that matter ever had one for his children, but he certainly was
creative in giving thanks. Most of you know the story of Abram, but
it is worth hearing again. It is a great story and begins as all
great stories do, “Once upon a time…” Once upon a time there was a boy
named Abram. The first 75 years were a bit of a blur, but then life
got real interesting. The Lord spoke to Abram and told him to move
away from home with his wife and go to a land that God would show
him. So he did, taking his nephew, Lot, with them. When he came to a
place between Bethel and Ai, the Lord showed him the land and said,
“Here it is. What do you think?”
Abram built an altar right there and thanked God for the promise.
There was no deed to the land and there were already some people on
the land and it would be about 600 – 800 years before Abram’s family
would actually live on the land, but still he built an altar and said,
“Thank you for the promise.” Then he realized there was no food in
the land and they were really hungry so they traveled to Egypt for
some food. I don’t have time to tell you everything that happened in
Egypt, but eventually they headed back to look the land over. By this
time Abram and Lot had so much that their workers started arguing
about whose sheep got there first. Abram told Lot that there was
plenty of room and invited Lot to choose his place, then Abram would
go the other way. Lot chose to go east and Abram went southwest
toward Hebron, where the Lord once again promised Abram all the land
he could see and Abram once again built an altar out of gratitude.
Unfortunately, Lot chose an area where the local ruler plus four other
rulers were in a bit of a rivalry with another four rulers. Five
against four. There was a big fight and the four rulers beat the five
rulers, leaving Lot on the losing side and he was taken prisoner.
When word reached Abram about the battle and his nephew being taken
hostage, he became determined to rescue Lot. So he and 318 other guys
planned and executed a surprise attack, defeating the armies that held
Lot. They recovered the possessions that had been taken along with
the people including Abram’s nephew. It was an incredible triumph
that Abram knew had everything to do with God being with him. As he
returned the people and possessions, the ruler of Sodom, Lot’s place,
and the ruler of Salem, later to be known as Jerusalem, came out to
greet him. We pick up the story here in Genesis 14:17-20. Hear now
the Word of the Lord:
17After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and
the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at
the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18And
King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of
God Most High. 19He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram
by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; 20and blessed
be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And
Abram gave him one tenth of everything.
The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to
God. In this passage the author of Genesis revealed to his
readers the art of giving thanks.
I have discovered that there is an art of
giving thanks. The simple expression possesses such power and
promotes health to all involved. Look at something as simple as a
Thank You Card and notice all that happens with such a recognition.
This morning I invite you to discover the art of giving thanks.
A Thank you Card appreciates what has been given
Abram was good at expressing gratitude. As I have
already mentioned, he thanked God often for what he had received
through prayers and building altars. In this passage he thanked
Melchizedek for the blessing that he bestowed upon Abram. It is
believed by many that “God Most High” in this passage referred to the
regional god worshipped by the people of Salem, but Abram knew that
the Lord was the source of this surprise victory and Melchizedek knew
that Abram could not have done this on his own. In fact, Gerhardt Von
Rad wrote in his commentary on Genesis that Melchizedek came very
close to believing in Abram’s God because of these extraordinary
events. Abram appreciated what he had been given by the maker of
heaven and earth. His gift of one-tenth of everything to Melchizedek
was an expression of appreciation for what he had been given by
the God Most High.
My Uncle Bill was always a stickler about expressing appreciation. I
am pretty sure that I never sent a Thank You Card until I spent
the summer in California with Aunt Peg and Uncle Bill. My first
summer there I celebrated my ninth birthday. Grandma Vee always sent
me five dollars for my birthday. I remember opening the card and
seeing that five dollar bill with its crisp depiction of Abraham
Lincoln in the center of it. Uncle Bill said, “Before the day is over
you need to write your Grandma a Thank You Card.” I did not
know the first thing about writing a Thank You Card and though
it was nice of Uncle Bill to insist on it, I am not sure he was the
best person to co-author it. He said, “Let me help you: ‘Dear
Grandma, thank you for the very nice picture of Abraham Lincoln. Now
that I already have one of these, please consider sending me a picture
of President Grant or Benjamin Franklin. With Love, Kip.’”
I loved my Uncle Bill, but I am not sure I ever really got his lesson
until years later. Aunt Peg and Uncle Bill had moved back to Ohio,
Uncle Bill had been dead for several years, and I was in my forties
with kids older than I had been when I first went to California.
Tammy, Chelsea, Zachary and I were visiting Disneyland and I talked
them into taking a trip to Riverside for a day. We drove to 6307
Chadbourne Avenue and took a picture of the place with me in front of
it. I sent the picture to Aunt Peg in a Thank You Card,
thanking her for all that they had done for me. It took awhile, but I
finally appreciated what I had been given.
My guess is that I am not alone in this delayed appreciation. What
have you been given, by God or by the vehicles of God’s goodness?
Take time to write a Thank You Card this week and while you’re
at it, thank God for all that God has done. Discover the art of
giving thanks. A Thank You Card appreciates what has
been given.
A Thank You Card Relates to the one who has given
There was a bond between Melchizedek and
Abram that would be remembered for thousands of years. It is
interesting that Bera, King of Sodom, is refused his offer for Abram
to take all that he had recovered. He did not want anyone saying that
he became rich because of the king’s generosity. He wanted God to get
all the credit. His tithe of one-tenth was an expression of gratitude
to God and would be remembered as such by the author of Hebrews where
the entire seventh chapter focuses on this act of faithful giving.
The author of Hebrews saw Melchizedek as a representative of God, a
forerunner of the priests who would also receive the tithe from the
people of God. This one act of gratitude connected the recipient to
the one who has given in a special way.
Last weekend Laurinda and I had the
opportunity to lead a pre-marital workshop. Ten couples that are
getting married this year attended the three-hour seminar. I had the
chance to remember a similar workshop that I led about 15 years ago.
My audience then was actually high school seniors. It was a life
skills class for students who were not college bound. The teacher
told me that many of these students would be married within the year
and she wanted them to receive some instruction before launching into
the real world. We even did a walk-through of a wedding ceremony with
bride, groom, best man, maid of honor, flower girl, and ring bearer.
When I came to the point in the mock ceremony where I pray for the
couple, I prayed for the couple. I mentioned in my prayer that there
is no such thing as a mock prayer, that though Jimmy and Jessica were
not really getting married, I really was asking for God to bless
them. I prayed for their future, for their future spouses, and for
them to realize how deeply God loved them. A couple weeks later I
received thank you cards from that class, every member. I think it
was an assignment. However, in those cards I found two from Jimmy and
Jessica. They thanked me for my prayers saying that no one had ever
prayed for them by name before. That brief expression of gratitude
has bound them to my heart ever since.
Has that ever happened to you? Have you been surprised
by the impact that your gift or gesture of kindness has had on
someone? It takes a Thank You Card to convey that impact.
There has to be some expression of gratitude that relates to the one
who has given. That is why it is so important for us to
discover the art of giving thanks. A Thank You Card
appreciates what has been given and relates to the one who has given.
A Thank You Card Translates to every culture and
generation
I never realized the amount of debate that this short
passage of scripture has generated until I started studying it more in
depth. Commentators argue over whether this passage justifies the
Christian practice of tithing. Some have concluded that this was more
of a courtesy by Abram to the hospitality shown by a foreign ruler.
Some have even gone back into the Babylonian tradition, which was
Abram’s origin, and cited ancient writings where tithing was
encouraged as a common practice. There is a lot of discussion about
this passage and many different conclusions by many different
scholars. However, the one thing that we see translating over 4,000
years from an ancient culture in an ancient land to a modern culture
in a new land is the need to give thanks. Abram’s first response to
his victory over Chedorlaomer and the other kings was to give thanks.
His first action taken after receiving the blessing of Melchizedek was
to give thanks. There is something within us that longs to express
our gratitude and God has provided methods for us to do that.
I have had the privilege of traveling to different
countries where different languages are spoken, most recently to
Mexico with our college students. Though I studied Spanish for three
years in High School, I am amazed at how little I remember. However,
one word that I simply could not do without is, gracias,
muchas gracias. I said it a lot in Mexico earlier this month. It
is natural to want to express our thanks.
Our tithe to God is not a tax from the church or the
kingdom of God. It is an expression of gratitude, a Thank You Card
for all that God has done for us. When it gets clouded with a desire
to hold tightly to what never really belonged to us, we lose the joy
of the moment. Henry Lansdell wrote, “Right giving is a part of
right living. The living is not right when the giving is wrong. The
giving is wrong when we steal God’s portion to spend on ourselves.”
This past week while I was walking, a thought came to
me that I have not been able to get out my mind. The thought was
this, “I tend to forget how good God is, when I forget to thank God
for all that God has done.” What has God done for you – this
week? Discover the art of giving thanks.
To help you learn the art, just remember those three
letters: A-R-T.
o
A Thank
You Card Appreciates what has been given
o
A Thank
You Card Relates to the one who has given
o
A Thank
You Card Translates to every culture and generation
I have known many people who respond to God’s goodness
in the same way that Abram did in our story today. They have begun by
giving God a tenth of everything. I have yet to hear a report from
anyone who regrets that decision or feels that this was an unwise
move. On the other hand, I have heard many stories of faith that
claim this was a significant step in their spiritual development.
This week I encourage you to reflect on all that God has given to you
and all that God has done for you. Begin to compose a Thank You
Card for God and the vehicles that God has chosen to use in your
life. Discover the art of giving thanks. Amen. |
