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Removing Barriers, Creating Communities of Belonging.
November 2024
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
Let the humble hear and be glad.
O magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
Psalm 34:1-3
Greetings –
Richard Bauckham, researcher, writer, and Anglican biblical scholar, almost lost his ability to read in early 2022 due to macular degeneration. He recently published The Blurred Cross sharing this experience as part of his journey with God. In his closing chapter, Bauckham shares how this experience deepened his understanding of gratitude.
Bauckham reminds us ‘thanksgiving’ is appropriately directed to someone. Thanking “our lucky stars” or “the universe” makes little sense because those entities lack intentionality. Appreciating “blessings but having no intentional Source to thank for them is one of the impoverishments of unbelief” (p173).
As Christians entering this season of giving thanks, we are blessed to know the source of the blessings we have received and thank our heavenly Father for them. Recognizing the impoverishment of those who don’t know the source, spurs me anew to help them come into relationship with the triune God who walks with us through the challenges and joys of this life.
Following the crisis of losing and partially regaining his sight, Bauckham notes the intensity of an experience will wane, but leave its mark. Life may seem to return to normal, but we are different as a result. We are changed. Having lived through his experience very consciously with God bolstered thankfulness to God. “It feels as though the experience has made gratitude to God a more pervasive feature of my life from now on” (p 170).
Likewise, let us exalt his name together with gratitude not only this season, but throughout the year. May we share the source from whom all blessings flow with others who do not yet know God.
Your Sister in Christ,
Deacon Kathy Ayres
AcLN Director
Connecting People and Sharing Resources
to support the church's ministry
with and by people with disabilities.
Give thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to
share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and
transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Col 1:12-14
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