Magyar Egyház, 1973 (52. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1973-11-01 / 11. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 15 MAGYAR CHURCH BE THANKFUL. The general tendency of most men is to demand more and more in work, in the family and even in the church. People seem to he unsatisfied with the fortune measured out to them in the course of life. Some people complain because they are ill or accidents or other misfortune beset them; others complain for they think the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Still others complain for other reasons or they just seem to he filled with misfeelings, misfortune and misery. You only have to ask them the general question “How are you?” and they answer with a long list of complaints. The one thing rare in our modern world today is “thanksgiving”. Children have difficulty in learning how to say “thank you”, although parents insist on teaching them. Yet, later on in life, this spirit of thankfulness disappears entirely from many lives. Th is is nothing new. Man must have had the same nature long ago too. We can see in the admonishing of the great apostle Paul to the Colossians, where lie says: “be ye thankful!” I presume, that not only the people in Colosse but everywhere men needed this reminder. One of the most important messages of the apostle, that we all can learn today is “to be thankful!” L This spirit of thankfulness was in the Pilgrim forefathers and those early settlers who came to the shores of America. As they came here to escape persecution, they experienced hardship, trials and tribulations so they learned the hard way how to be thankful to God for the blessings He bestowed upon them. Indeed, they were grateful for the life the Lord had given them, for they saw members of their families and friends perish. They were grateful for the food, for it was not easy to eke out an existence in those early days in the New World. This is why Thanksgiving Day is such a typically American holiday and so close to the heart and mind of many millions who live now in the United States of America. The first pilgrims did not know when they gathered together to give thanks to the Lord the first time that Thanksgiving Day would be proclaimed a national holiday in years to come: they only knew that they were inspired by God and did what they felt was right to do. So, out of the humble beginning the people who followed the footsteps of their ancestors, eventually developed a biblical tradition to give thanks to the Lord God Almighty. This humble practice needed a strong reminder later on when the President of the country gave an annual message on Thanksgiving Day telling everyone to give thanks to Almighty God for the many blessings he has showered upon our nation. Yea, blessed is the nation where people turn to God and give Him thanks and appear in the courts of the Almighty not only on Thanksgiving Day but every Sunday of the year. The members of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America gladly joined the thanksgiving throngs of other Americans who celebrate this great holiday with true gratitude in their hearts. There are many reasons why our church members ought to be grateful here in the U.S.A.: first for the opportunity to freely organize our congregations and establish our independent, self-supporting denomination the Hungarian Reformed Church in America; then for using our Hungarian language without fear or intimidation in the church and in our homes; then for the spiritual and material blessings, that we can build churches while somewhere else in the world our brethren suffer for their faith. II. Furthermore this reminder of the apostle: be ye thankful brings to our mind another bible verse: “never forget to be thankful for what God has done for you!” This seems to indicate that the spirit of thanksgiving is not only a passing motion or outmoded inclination of a man, but rather it is a matter of “duty”. We owe it to God to be grateful. Have you ever thought about it in that sense? Have you conscientiously given thanks to Almighty God, our Creator, for your life, for your parents, for your children, for your friends and relatives, for your country and church and home and all that you cannot even enumerate? You may resent my saying and puting these thoughts in the scope I did; that you owe gratitude to Almighty God and His holy Son, our Lord Jesus
