In Praise of Thanks

Column by Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox on 24 November 2022 1 Comments

Thanksgiving 2022.  There is much to be grateful for; and much to be concerned about. 

Please login with your account to read this essay.
 

Question

I am feeling concerned that life may not really matter and question whether my own life has a deeper meaning and will make any real difference in the world.

Answer

As I read your brief note, I feel both the personal pain that is unique to you and your situation, and the more general anxiety that resonates so deeply with universal human condition. The most sensitive and reflective among us, those with the highest ideals, seem to feel most acutely the gap between their hopeful dreams and actual reality. And all of us, or nearly all of us, reach low points where it feels that we have ruined our lives and squandered opportunities.

I can’t help but wonder how old you are, because this question has one kind of poignancy among the young who have uncertain years stretched out ahead of them, another among the middle aged whose candle seems half-gone, and another among the elders who look back and wonder what has actually been accomplished after years of effort.

Through my many years as a Christian, I have come to see more clearly something that was incredibly obvious in the New Testament, but that I had been trained, it seems, to not see.

A friend of mine captured it after a super difficult period of life, when he said, “Life is a gift and love is the point.”

In Paul’s writings, he puts it both negatively and positively. Negatively (1 Corinthians 13), he tells us that our greatest successes in life — without love — are meaningless. In place of a coherent melody, there is only a hollow noise.

Positively (Galatians 5:6), he tells that many things are indeed meaningless, including issues religious people argue about fervently. The only thing that matters, he says, is faith expressing itself through love.

So here is what I would encourage you, or anyone wondering about the meaning of their life, to do.

First, think back on the people who have loved you — family, friends, teachers, colleagues, even strangers who have shown you kindness and respect. See yourself as a person who has been loved.

Second, think about the love and generosity that have come to you from other living creatures, even the earth itself… from a cat curling in your lap or a dog wagging his tail to greet you, from the rains and soil, from a ripe summer peach or a plump spring strawberry or a crisp autumn apple, from beauty shining in a shimmering field of wheat or in a frosty window on a winter’s morning. Allow yourself to feel that you were given the gift of life, full of generous gifts like these.

Third, think about the love you have shown… the people you have cared about, the causes you have been committed to, the work you have done to benefit others.

Then, perhaps you could reflect upon these words from the New Testament (1 John 4:7-8): “Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God… because God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God lives in that person.”

If we listen to the voice of the Spirit whispering up from deep within us, I think we will hear something like this: the measure of a meaningful life is love … receiving love, sharing love.

Even if we lived a hateful life up until this moment, there is good news: the smallest gesture of love that we indulge in today, from giving a cup of cold water to someone in need to sharing a kind word or smile, will not be meaningless. It will mark the turning of our lives toward the light.

Please know that my heart, and the hearts of so many people reading your note, are rising up in love for you today. Your honesty and desire for meaning have stirred up more love in the world today, and that makes a difference.

~ Brian D. McLaren

 

Comments

 

One thought on “In Praise of Thanks

  1. WordPress › Error

    There has been a critical error on this website.

    Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress.