by Doug Reynolds, Head of School
As we approach Thanksgiving, I wanted to share Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, delivered October 3, 1863, from Washington, DC. This was the day he proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday.
Lincoln’s words remind me of I Peter 1:6, “In this you rejoice.” To what is the word “this” referring? It’s our “inheritance (salvation) that is imperishable” that was “according to His great mercy” (v.3 & 4). We can rejoice in this, even though we are often “grieved by various trials” (v.6b).
Lincoln’s words in the first Thanksgiving Day Proclamation echo these words in 1 Peter during the significant trials of the Civil War. They are a reminder to us today that we should rejoice and be thankful this Thanksgiving for all He has done in and through Jesus Christ, even in the midst of struggles and trials.
Happy Thanksgiving!