OPINION: ‘Thank You for Tomorrow’

When our children were young, it was fairly common for the youngest child to delight in saying the blessing before meals. When our youngest, Timothy, was 4 years old he often eagerly asked to say the blessing. His prayers developed of course, moving first from unintelligible to intelligible and then adding and substituting topics. At one point a new item began appearing in his prayers. He began, in his list of things for which he gave thanks, saying, “Thank you for tomorrow.”

This was striking to me the first time I heard it, and I am still not sure what exactly he meant by it. Most likely he melded in a humorous way some different things he had heard us pray. But I did not correct him. It is good theology whether he realized it or not.

As I pondered that little prayer it prompted some edifying thinking on my part.  It might seem presumptuous at first to thank God for what has not yet been given (perhaps contrary to James 4:13-16). And yet, such a prayer, intentionally stated, is not presumption but the confidence of hope. For tomorrow is already promised to all those who are in Christ. This tomorrow may occur in this life or the next, but it is sure. And no matter what hardship tomorrow may bring, God is there. To give thanks for what God is yet to do is to act in faith.

I found welling up within me, as Timothy prayed, a joyful certainty, and, as I think back to it, I am thankful because this day is not the end. There is a future, and we give thanks to God for it because it comes from him.  This is a proper prayer for those who believe in the resurrection.

I’m finding myself sometimes praying these words learned from my little boy.

Ray Van Neste is the vice-president of university ministries at Union University. Contact him at rvannest@uu.edu.