Thanksgiving: why it's important

The Pilgrims came to America not to accumulate riches but to worship God, and the greatest wealth they left unborn generations was their heroic example of sacrifice that their souls might be free.


It's that time of year again, the turkey's will soon be in the oven, the family and friends will gather, and we'll indulge our taste buds in scrumptious delights. It's Thanksgiving, and we've sub- consciously forgotten why we even have a holiday. For those of us who live in America, we celebrate in remembrance of the Pilgrims who weather many a storm and many hardship so that they might freely worship God. These days, Thanksgiving seems to be a mere holiday in which we pull up a chair to the table and enjoy a meal. For the Pilgrims, it was much more than that. They recognized that the only reason they had survived and had food to partake of was because of the blessing of their Creator. Their gratitude was deep because they had endured so much so that they and future generations might worship the Lord freely. In America, Thanksgiving should be important because of what took place on that first holiday in this country. Next week, before you enjoy all the fellowship with family and friends, pause a moment to think about your religious freedom and thank God for the sacrifice of those who first paved the way for this freedom in our land.