Thanksgiving: the Marinade of the Christian Life
by on Nov 22nd, 2011 at 12:00 am
We all know, as Christians, that we should be thankful people. Yet, even though we know we are to be thankful, value is often overlooked even while we claim to know we are to show thanks.
There are many passages on thankfulness and gratefulness, but a good one to consider this year is Philippians 4:6. The text calls us to be thankful, but it is, interestingly enough, the situation into which Paul commands such thankfulness that we find its importance in our lives.
Paul manages to command thankfulness even though he is writing from a prison cell (and he’s not in the kind of prison where the inmate is guaranteed meals, showers, and secure environment). He is also writing to a group of believers who are struggling through some internal arguments (see earlier in the chapter). The recipients of his letter have many reasons to be concerned, and yet Paul tells them to marinate their prayers with the trained and active posture of thankfulness to God.
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I apologize for the long hiatus since last February. I simply bit off more than I could chew in terms of workload. I was working two jobs, finishing seminary, teaching two courses at church, and raising a young family. Since that time, I finished seminary, reduced my teaching load at church, and have found the time to get back into using this site as a service to you.
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Book: Meaning at the Movies: Becoming a Discerning Viewer
Author: Grant Horner
Publisher: Wheaton: Crossway, 2010; 213 pages.
My favorite class from high school was “Introduction to American Films.” At the time, I loved the course because the entire class time was spent in a darkened room where we watched movies every day (and the teacher didn’t care if we used it to nap). Our homework involved watching and reviewing movies, and our final assignments merely required us to form “Top 10” lists of various genres. Yes, I was immature and only interested in an easy class to pad the G.P.A. before college.
The value I received from the class, however, has only grown over the past 13 years. I went into it looking for a low-expectation, easy class and walked away appreciating movies in an entirely different, and richer, manner. Yes, we watched dozens of movies covering every decade of the 20th century (there was no 21st century yet), but our teacher taught us about the process of movie-making: editing techniques, moving along a storyline, character development, genres, optical illusions, etc. Before that class, I evaluated a movie based on whether I liked the special effects, laughed enough, or didn’t get bored. After the class, I learned how to appreciate movies that failed to pass my first grading rubric, but were of more lasting significance to culture, history, or my own understanding of life.