Not that vague sort of feeling you drum up before Thanksgiving dinner

I Peter 1:18-20 "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake."
These verses make it quite clear that God knew precisely what He was going to do about sinful humanity before we ever even had a chance to be sinful. It's such a strange thing to think that, even knowing all that would happen because of us--the sin, the pain, His own sacrifice--He still chose to create us. The group Selah's Christmas album, Rose of Bethlehem, has a song that goes, "The Father knew the Son would die, and He still created man." He knew before He ever started that the creation of humanity would require the death of His Son to save them, but He didn't just scrap the whole project and forget it. He considered it worth it.
That is what I'll go on record as being thankful for. Thankful! Not that vague sort of feeling you drum up before Thanksgiving dinner so you can say you're thankful for something. But, say, the gratitude of an adopted child who has gone from misery to joy, mixed with a sort of bewilderment and awe at it all.