Fifth Street Saints,

As Christmas quickly approaches, it is important for us to remember what this season is meant to represent. We live in a secular society, and it is very easy for us to get caught up in the secular festivities and take no time to meditate on what it really means that our God humbled Himself to such a lowly state as to suffer the pains and trials of an earthly life that our sins we commit on so regular a basis will not be counted against us. 

Our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. While this goal should drive our every action and thought year-round, this season offers us a particular opportunity to reflect on how we are serving Him.

As Christians, we are to be “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20). Though this is to be a continual work in our lives, Thanksgiving is a particular opportunity for us to stop and devote ourselves to this work. 

We have so much to be thankful for, from our families to our church to our community to our country. But above all, we have reason to be thankful that God has reconciled us to Himself in Jesus Christ and that in Christ we have the sure and steadfast hope of everlasting life with God. If any people have a reason to be thankful, we do. 

We hope you are able to spend time with family and other loved ones this Thanksgiving and that you use it as an opportunity to reflect on God’s great gifts in your life. May such reflection renew your thankfulness and encourage you to live always for Christ. Happy Thanksgiving and may God continue to shower you with His grace!

One of the great things about the first question and answer of our Shorter and Larger Catechisms is that they get straight to the heart of what we were made for. One of the questions that has plagued many throughout the ages and plagued me as a young man is, "why are we here?" "What is the meaning of life?" 

The Catechisms' answer is to the point: "Man's chief (and highest) end is to glorify God, and (fully) to enjoy Him forever." We were made for God. He is the one we are to serve, and He is the one in whom we are to find our true satisfaction. This makes sense. If God is greater than all and is the one who brought all things into existence, then all these things must be for Him. When we see the goodness of the world that He has made and reflect on the good gifts in our lives, it becomes all the more apparent that, with all that we are, we should be devoted to God.