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U n d e r l y i n g the whole Christian religion is a broad foundation of fact upon which it rests and up from which it rises. This is the rational element in Christianity. Back of everything in the Christian faith there are adequate reasons; not all those rea sons, however, can be known to, or understood by, the human intellect. Not everything God would say to us can be said in words. Some things by-pass reason altogether and, if known at all, are known to the heart only by the revelation of the Spirit. Since the faith of Christ has in it these twin elements, two things will always be true of every bona fide Christian: He will possess a philosophy of truth and he will be possessed by a spirit of truth. The one he can grasp with his reason and cast into words; it will con stitute his total creed, the body of his Christian witness. This rather formidable introduction is placed here as a backdrop against which might be set the truth I wish to emphasize. It is simply that Christian thankfulness is both rea sonable and spiritual. The facts require us to be thankful. The circumstances being what they are, thanksgiving is a rational act; yet, unless the heart is possessed by a spirit of gratitude, no real thanksgiving will be possible. As for the philosophy of thanksgiving, there is nothing very profound about it. Just get a few facts straight and immediately the mind will be convinced. For instance, the best man that ever lived, whoever he might be, deserves from God exactly nothing at all. One sin is enough to forfeit forever all claim upon God’s providential care. Once that sin has been committed (and what man sinneth not?) every gift of God from that moment is a gift of pure grace. Every natural benefit, every common blessing, flows as surely out of grace as salva tion does. In strict justice we rate nothing, not a moment of life, not a day of health or happiness upon this earth. All this notwithstanding there are still millions of people who in spite of a long record ° f aggravated sin are sourly convinced that God owes them everything, and are ready to strike back at Him savagely if they do not get it. Such as these cannot be made thankful. The true Christian, however, knows himself too well to believe that he deserves the benefits which are daily showered upon him. He has been smitten with a deep sense of his own unworthiness and reverently accepts his daily bread and every temporal and spiritual blessing as the unmerited gifts of a kind and forgiving Father. Now, the other element in true thanksgiving is the spirit of thankfulness. This is an inward thing. It is more than a conclusion drawn from facts. It affects the heart as a radiant sense of gratitude, felt rather than understood. Without this all our reasoning will fall short of producing real thanksgiving in the soul. All our dutiful efforts to celebrate Thanksgiving will fail without a true spirit of grati tude; and such a spirit is impossible apart from the Holy Ghost. So dark and low is the human spirit that it can never of itself rise to those sunlit heights where praise is normal and spontaneous. In the spirit of thankfulness Job praised God on the ash heap, David worshipped in the wilderness and Christ sang on His way to Gethsemane. Like every other gift of God the spirit of thankfulness, if it is not to die of suffocation, must be given external expression. The psalmist sensed this need for vocal overflow when he exclaimed, “ Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.” Dr. Tozer is Editor of “ The Alliance Witness” THE KING'S BUSINESS
A . W. Tozer
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