“Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:17).
Paul speaks to a crowd of people who, most likely, did not have a clue about what Paul was talking about. They were going on with their lives as handed down to them by their ancestors (1Peter 1:18).
They heard about Zeus, Jupiter; there was a temple, a priest and some sacrificial ritual then a feast.
To this crowd Paul preached the gospel. I don’t know how much of Paul’s speech they were able to get, but when Paul healed a lame man, the crowd gets moving. They recognised a divine intervention; they recognised a miracle – a super-human act. The healing attracted the crowds and set them ready to worship, although in a wrong direction and in a wrong way.
Today, miracles do happen. The greatest miracle though, the super-human act is the act of love. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).
Nevertheless, their actions and words reveal a longing…the longing for a relationship with the divine. “When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” (Acts 14:11).
When it comes to thanksgiving, it is imperative to express our thankfulness in the right direction: God-direction – acknowledging the source of our food.
The Bible teaches us to express our thankfulness in the right way: considerate and decent. “For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry” (1 Peter 4:3).
Let our Harvest Thanksgiving Service to be an expression of our thankfulness for God’s abundant provision of food! Let thanksgiving be an attitude of heart!
Let us be thankful!