Christian thanksgiving

About 100 years after Isaiah prophesied about the destruction of Israel and surrounding countries in Isaiah chapters 13~24, Israel/Judah was destroyed by Babylon. In the next 2 chapters of Isaiah, the prophet was already looking ahead to the Lord's redemption that would deliver His people from exile in Babylon and was proleptically praising Him. His was anticipating a future event that had not yet happened and in faith was able to praise the Lord. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). To the prophet, the future event taken in faith was as real as the present, because it was based on the Lord's promise.

Apostle Paul teaches us, "In every thing give thanks: For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (I Thessalonians 5:18). How is it possible for a Christian to be thankful in EVERY THING? Bad things happen to Christians just as much as to non-Christians, or perhaps even more. A Christian gets sick, sometimes of a seemingly incurable illness. A Christian gets into an accident, both small and large. A Christian encounters a family death. A Christian may be laid off from his work, or his business may go bankrupt. A natural disaster like a tornado, an earthquake, or a flood may hit a Christian as much as a non-Christian. Yet the commandment from the Lord is that we give thanks in everything.

We can give thanks even in the valley of the shadow of death, when we believe that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). When we confess that ALL THINGS work for our good, we must surely mean that both good and BAD things work for our good. Our faith must be that with our LORD in control, even a lay-off, even an illness, or even an accident will work for our good. That's why and how we are able to be thankful and praise the Lord in every thing.

In October 1946, there was a Communist uprising in the South Korean city of Yeosu. During the week-long rebellion, the Communists were in control of the city and executed many Christians in the name of the people.  Among those martyred were two sons of Rev. Yang Won Sohn (손양원 목사님); their crime was that in the high school and middle school they were respectively attending, they were never bashful about witnessing Jesus. They were accused and killed by one of their classmates. After the rebellion was put down, a funeral service was held for the two young men.  At the service, Rev. Sohn offered ten reasons why he was thankful:
    (1) that two martyrs came out of a family of sinners,
    (2) that, among all the saints, such treasures of saints were given to him as sons,
    (3) that of his 3 sons and 3 daughters, he was able to offer up his first son and second son to God,
    (4) that when it would have been precious to have one martyr as a son, he now had two sons as martyrs,
    (5) that when it would have been a blessing to die a natural death as a Christian, his two sons were shot to death while proclaiming Jesus as the Lord,
    (6) that his elder son, who was preparing to go to the US to study abroad, instead went up to Heaven, incomparably better than the US,
    (7) that God gave him the heart of love to forgive the executioner of his sons and adopt him as his own son,
    (8) that he believed that numerous people will come to the Lord on account of his two sons' martyrdom,
    (9) that the Lord Jesus Christ gave him the joy and faith to seek the above 8 truths and God's love even in a very difficult situation, and
    (10) that God blessed him beyond what he deserved.
With these notes of thanks, he also made an offering of thanks amounting to 125 times his monthly salary.  On the envelope of the offering, he simply wrote "In gratitude for the martyrdom of two sons. ₩10,000. Yang Won Sohn." Indeed, with Rev Sohn, nicknamed the atomic bomb of love, even the death of his two eldest sons worked together for his and their good. As he thankfully declared, he not only adopted the executioner of his sons, but also raised him to become a minister of God.

Lord, let me learn from Jesus and from His witnesses like Rev Sohn and praise and thank You in everything.  Even when seemingly bad things are happening to me, let me have the faith and trust in You to continually thank you in joy. Let me be able to anticipate Your ultimate victory and redemption for me and thank you proleptically.  In Jesus' name, Amen.