As we enter the month of November, a time of year that we associate with Thanksgiving, I thought we might consider some of the blessings God has given us.   We can’t be exhaustive, of course, because everything we have is a gift of God.  We would have nothing were it not for his work in our life.

Even though it may seem rather basic, the first blessing of God that we’ll consider is life itself.  We remember from the beginning of Genesis how God created the first couple.  We remember how he formed Adam from the dust of the earth, breathing into him the breath of life.  We then remember how, from Adam’s rib, he formed Eve.  This, of course, was the beginning of mankind as a whole.  They are the father and mother of us all.

This tells us that we’re not a random accident.  We’re not the product of chance.  We exist because God created mankind.  We exist because he gave us life.

            However, God didn’t stop there.  When God formed Adam and Eve, he didn’t simply begin a biological process that’s self-perpetuating.  He continues to actively create each life that enters this world.  As we read in Psalm 139:13, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.”

            This is a beautiful picture of God’s creative work.  Those who knit, as well as those who enjoy the work of those who knit, value the hands on nature of this process.  Each piece is the result of their handiwork.  And, in the same way, we are the result of God’s handiwork.  He has personally made us.  He personally knits us together in our mother’s womb.   

            This isn’t a cute story, like that of the stork who delivers babies to couples.  We all know where babies come from.  God did set a process in place when he created the man and the woman.  However, this doesn’t mean that God is now inactive.  Each child that is conceived is his handiwork. 

            And not only did God create us.  Not only did he give us life.  We find in Scripture that he continues to sustain us from day to day.  Without his active work in creation, we would cease to exist, along with all things.  As the apostle Paul writes in Colossians 1:15-16, speaking of Jesus: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

            For these reasons, we should remember that God is the reason we exist.  We should remember that he is the giver of life.  And we should thank and praise him for this precious gift.