By the happy accident of genetics and divine sovereignty G.K. Chesterton was born in 1874 and grew into a man of prodigious intellect. He was smarter than smart. He was also playful and curious, a true manchild rolled into the impressive girth of a 300-pound body topped with wild red hair.
Chesterton was the friend of humankind and indeed all the earth. He was awed by the simple fact of creation. His life was forever changed by making the simple connection between his own thankfulness and the necessity of having Someone to thank. He found his way to the Father’s banqueting table by his intense desire to say thank you to whoever was responsible for the wonder of this world.
He once said, “Here dies another day during which I have had eyes, ears, hands, and the great world around me. And with tomorrow begins another. Why am I allowed two?” That such a heart would not discover God is unthinkable. His intellect led him to joy, a defiant joy that led him to celebrate the goodness of God wherever he found it—which was everywhere.
Chesterton would’ve been quite at home with our American holiday, Thanksgiving: “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
Ask Yourself: Does creation dazzle me?
Live Into It: Philosopher Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. said of Chesterton’s conversion: “It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular . . . It's a little like being married in general.” Try this: be specific not only in what you are thankful for but to whom you are thankful as well.