Americans like to complain, and are in a particular funk in recent times. This Thanksgiving there is much reason for gratitude, and as always even more reason for prayer on behalf of many globally who lack religious liberty.
All Americans and Christians especially should robustly celebrate Thanksgiving in gratitude to God for His ceaseless blessings, our continued material abundance, the relative (but never entire) peace that our nation now enjoys, and above all religious freedom in our nation, which remains under siege throughout the world, and is challenged at times even in our own country.
More than any other group globally, Christians are under threat and restriction by many tyrannical regimes and violent ideologies. Our prayers this Thanksgiving must remember them.
The Pilgrim escape to New England emblematizes the centuries-long quest for liberty to worship God without coercion, a liberty that hundreds of millions from different faiths in our world do not have.
The Thanksgiving feast celebrated by Pilgrims and Indians also models a transcultural and transracial harmony possible by divine grace and good will. May we always honor their persevering faith and continue today the quest for liberty under God for all people.
Originally published in 2015.
