| Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. |
| —Psalm 100:4 |
In downtown Dallas, Texas, we can see a beautiful area named Thanksgiving Square. It has an interesting history:
Researchers and spiritual leaders discovered a long history of “giving and living thanks” in Dallas. Thanksgiving—gratitude in action—was recognized as a human universal, present in cultures and faith traditions around the world. The Thanks-Giving Foundation was chartered to create a public space in the heart of the city dedicated in gratitude to God and to the “most ancient and enduring of American traditions.”
Forming the first public-private venture in the city’s history, the Thanks-Giving Foundation worked with the City of Dallas to acquire land in 1968. Construction began in 1973. Designated as one of the region’s American Revolution Bicentennial Projects, the Chapel of Thanksgiving and the Bell Tower were dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. President Gerald Ford recognized Thanks-Giving Square as a “major national shrine.” The remainder of the grounds opened in 1977, two hundred years after General George Washington proclaimed the first national Day of Thanksgiving on request of the Continental Congress.
At the east end of Thanks-Giving Square stands the interfaith Chapel of Thanksgiving, a curving white structure symbolizing the ancient spiral of life and suggesting the infinite upward reach of the human spirit. A 100-foot-long bridge crosses the Great Fountain to arrive at the Chapel, which serves as a gathering place and a spiritual center for the daily life of the city. 1
While we rejoice in the beauty of the architecture and the exquisite design of mosaics, stained glass, engraving, and graphic art of such a structure, we recognize that God looks at each of us and searches for the exquisite beauty of what He has made in us through the in-dwelling Holy Spirit. He planned and fashioned our bodies as temples of His Spirit. He asks us, through the lips of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19:
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”
He reminds us that our lives were built for the purpose of worshiping Him. In Romans 12:1 we read these words of the Apostle Paul:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
God looks for the work of His artistry in us. He looks for His sparkling glory in our countenances. He looks for the jewels of His carving. He looks for the engraving of His written Word on our hearts. He looks for the music of our praise. And, He looks for the ringing tones of His joy over us.
When we live our lives devoted to Him, giving ourselves to service and to continual thanksgiving, He uses us as a beautiful monument of His workmanship. Let us enjoy this time of national Thanksgiving by lifting our hearts and hands in gratitude to God for all that He has done in and through us. Let us thank Him for bringing us this far by faith. And, let us thank Him for His promises to love and keep us to the end. Hallelujah!
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| 1 from the website of the Thanks-Giving Foundation, Dallas, TX |
