Ephesians 1:4-6 (ESV) — …Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
One of the greatest reasons a Christian has for thanksgiving is the knowledge that all that they are and have comes not from their own initiative but from the gracious and undeserved initiative of God. Our relationship with God began not when we found him but rather long before we, or even the world, existed. God graciously chose that we would be adopted as his sons, set apart to become like his Son, and would receive all the accompanying blessings through his Son. And for these undeserved gifts, for God’s glorious grace, we give praise and thanksgiving.
And again, we remember that these blessings all come not through some general, Santa Claus-like benevolence of God. No, they come only through Jesus Christ; we have been blessed with God’s grace “in the Beloved,” in Christ. And so once again, our greatest thanksgiving is for Christ, in whom and through whom all others blessings flow.
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