Giving Thanks

Good Morning,

Luke 17:11-19 (NIV)
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"
When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

What speaks to you as you read these verses this morning? I'll share with you what I heard clearly. It wasn't about the miracle that Jesus performed. It was about the thankfulness of one, and only one, of these people that the Lord touched in a huge way. As Jesus asked, "What about the others? Aren't they thankful? Why aren't they here to give thanks and praise God?"

Now, I don't think that there are any of us who've been healed of leprosy lately, but that doesn't alter the fact that all of us have been blessed and helped by God in some way in the not too distant past. Maybe even as recently as today. So, how many of us are acting like the one leper who came back to thank Jesus and praise God? And, how many of us are much like the nine who just went on their way?

We don't give thanks any where near enough, I don't think. We take for granted much that God does in our lives and just forget where our blessings are coming from. Heck, there are even a lot of us who complain because, even though we're hugely blessed in many ways, we don't think that we're blessed enough! Go figure! I mean, come on now, you see those who have a decent place to live, hold down a pretty good job, have nice automobiles to drive, wear good clothes, are obviously not missing any meals, have an iPhone attached to a belt, and you hear them complaining about not being blessed with a 52" plasma TV or some other needless thing or things. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

I guess what spoke to me is the fact that just about all of us who read these words have been touched by the Lord in probably many ways. If we'll stop to think about it we'll see that His touch in our lives continues day after day. Maybe we aren't being healed of diseases or some other "big" miracles going on in our lives. But, it certainly doesn't alter the fact that we have so very much to be thankful for and to be praising God for...as only the one did in these verses.

Stop today, please, and see what is going on in your life. When you realize all that you have, please be as the one who returned to Jesus and give thanks...loud and clear...and give praise and glory to God. I think He'd like that.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David