A Table of Thanksgiving

What if the most profound act of gratitude in history occurred at a table, just hours before the most horrific suffering imaginable? This exploration of Christ's thanksgiving at the Last Supper reveals something startling about our fallen nature and God's redemptive plan. When Jesus gave thanks for the bread and cup—symbols of His own broken body and shed blood—He did something completely unnatural to our human instincts. We recoil at the thought of being grateful in the face of suffering, yet Christ's thanksgiving proclaims three powerful realities: humanity's fall into ingratitude, Christ's fulfillment of God's sacrificial system, and His unwavering focus on the Father's glory. Each of those realities reminds believers of their own plight of ingratitude but also their position and pattern found in Christ. Christ-like gratitude isn't about finding silver linings in dark clouds; it's about seeing through those clouds to the blazing glory of a sovereign God who orchestrates all things for His purposes.