Thanksgiving: A Freewill Offering

If you were to die tomorrow, read Psalm 50. Then, God spared your life and he happened to grant you another 60 years, how would Psalm 50 impact those remaining years?

God was upset with Israel. They brought sacrifices to the temple, sure. And they did so over and over again. But there was a problem: They missed the heart of God by only offering these. They were religious, yet, did not take care of community/poor. They performed their services, offering temple sacrifices of bulls and goats. But Psalm 50 paints a fuller picture of their problem.

If you are only going to God to give him sacrifices, fine. God was not rebuking Israel for that. But God desires sacrifices of thanksgiving, or, freewill offerings.

Freewill offerings are different than burnt offerings. Burnt offerings would have been animals representing the sacrifice required for sins (Leviticus 1). Grain offerings would have been from your harvest, showing dependence on God (Leviticus 2).

But freewill offerings (or, “fellowship,” “peace” offerings) would have been spontaneous. They were voluntary, personalized, responses to God’s goodness. They acknowledge absolute dependence on God; expressions of thanksgiving. Imagine a potluck for the world’s best BBQ. Your contribution was as if you were sharing a meal with the Lord, emphasizing the peace one has with Him.

God says these types of offerings glorifies him (Psalm 50:23). They are not offerings to get something from God. They’re for you to say, “You’ve given me all!” It is the kind of reactive joy one feels Christmas morning opening gift after gift.

How to cultivate thanksgiving

“Our faith as to the present is revived by glad memories of the past.” (Spurgeon)

“Offer unto God thanksgiving is the everlasting rubic of the true directory of worship.” (Spurgeon)

The only way I’ve come to learn how to cultivate this kind of thanksgiving comes from A Praying Life by Paul Miller. Miller says, “Cynicism looks in the wrong direction. It looks for the cracks in Christianity instead of looking for the presence of Jesus…In order to see Jesus…I would have to look at people simply, as a child does. I began to ask myself, ‘Where did I see Jesus today?’”

Miller’s book has been in my top 5 books outside the bible since I read it in 2011. But it wasn’t until this last year I put something into practice, inspired by his writing. Each day, I would try to think back on the day before and write down as many attributes of God I saw that day. Where was Jesus in the “hiddenness” of the day? Did I see someone show humility? Did I see God provide? Answer a prayer? Show up in someone’s act of courage? Where did I see truth, honor, righteousness, purity, love, excellence, and other praise-worthy things?

Suddenly, I’ve had myself a year-long Field Notes booklet of kingdom goodness. Don’t be a cynic, Miller says. Instead, fight for joy. Aim at remembering. And respond accordingly.

Thank Thanksgiving!

**Learn more about free will offerings:

• Leviticus 3

• Psalm 27:6

• Psalm 69:30-33

• Psalm 107:22

• Psalm 116:17