Thanksgiving is one of those staunchly American holidays, where we come together with friends, family and loved ones, enjoying good food and good company, thankful for the blessings that we've been given.

But thankful to whom?

Perhaps because this is an American holiday, and we Americans are known for our independence and love of autonomy, many people are subtly, perhaps unconsciously patting themselves on the back, thankful for their own ingenuity or resourcefulness, grateful to their own determination and hard work in making their lives as bountiful as they are.

Or perhaps people are thankful to the government for providing the infrastructure and institutions that keep our society running smoothly and with few real disruptions to our cultural sense of security.

But to the Christian, Thanksgiving Day is (or at least should) have a deeper, significance. We show our gratitude to our Lord and Savior, to our God and King, Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God.

The Scriptures make it clear what sort of problem we're actually looking at here.

People are sinners. That means more than just the drunk-druggie-alcoholic triangle of substance abuse. That means more than the condemning pharisee or the loose-living pervert.

In fact, we were so deep in our plight, that we couldn't even see it as a plight, so rebellious, that our rebellion seemed as plain and as proper as breathing. So even though God in his love and grace provided us rebels a beautiful world to live in, with the blessings of a common goodness that touches all things, we would rather ignore him than be grateful. In fact, one of the biggest condemnations of all Sin in the Bible starts out with a very simple phrase:

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to Him...
Romans 1.21a

From that seemingly innocuous start, Jesus (through Paul) lists a compounding snowball of sinful actions, behaviors and attitudes that get worse and more intense as the list goes on. But it all starts with ingratitude.

That's the root of all sin.

Adam and Eve could have given thanks to God for the entire Garden of Eden, but instead they snubbed his glory and wanted the one thing they weren't given.

Being a sinner means, ultimately, that we refuse and we neglect to glorify God and give Him our thanks. When we think we know better than God, we refuse and neglect to give him thanks.

The self-righteous religious person forgets God's commands and instructions to genuinely love others. He refuses to thank God.

The soccer mom who's a good moral person may look to the gifts of her family and her children for happiness and fulfilment rather than the Gift Giver.

The druggie who is looking for his next fix is more thankful for the immediate relief and escape rather that thankful to the God who calls him to simply and actively trust Him.

The liberal Christian feels that God can only act in ways that bring immediate human comfort and pleasure. He refuses to thank a transcendent God who's vastly more involved and loving than to always make sense.

We often just take so many things in this world for granted. Our health, our food. The stability of our civic life. Our education or even our capacity to learn.

None of these things, and a whole lot more besides, are ours by right or by privilege, but are graciously given by our loving God in heaven. The Eternal God is not bound by any external duty, especially not to folks who would rather see Him dead by their hands. But he gives and gives to us, out of the infinite resources of His love. And while it's not His sole or prime concern, God really does want to see the flourishing of humanity.

And that's why God gave us His Son, to live the perfect life, to die in our place, and to be raised again as a promise to us. This gift of Jesus is the greatest gift that God's given to us, and the one where our gratitude, or ingratitude, demonstrates where our hearts lie: either with God in repentance and faith, or against God in sinning rebellion.

God invites you even know, turn from your sins, and turn to Jesus. Thank him for his gift of salvation-rescue and glorify Him with your life of faith.

This thanksgiving, don't forget to enjoy yourself and let your heart turn toward God with every bite, every bit of good conversation and every moment spent with loved ones.