Just in time for thanksgiving, here Are some encouraging words from maud Church of Christ in Maud, Texas:
A Tenth of Gratitude
(Luke 17:11-19)
As Jesus journeyed through a certain village, He encountered ten men
who were lepers. They cried out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” The Lord
instructed them to go and show themselves to the priest (a requirement of the
Law of Moses) and as they went, they were cleansed of the leprosy. One of the
men, realizing that he had been healed, excitedly returns to Jesus, glorifies God
and gives Jesus thanks for the wonderful gift of healing. Oh, by the way, the man
was a Samaritan, one least likely to express gratitude to a Jewish man. Jesus
asked, “Weren’t there ten of you? Where are the other nine? Could they not
return to give thanks just as this man who is a foreigner?” Jesus bids the healed
man farewell, telling him that his faith had made him well.
In this season of thanksgiving, many of us will make a special effort to
consider the countless ways that the Lord has blessed us. But how much do we
express our gratitude for such during the rest of the year? As the story implies,
are we so busy enjoying the blessings of life that we only pause to give thanks
ten percent of the time? Christians, above all other people should be the most
thankful, not only for the physical blessings but the spiritual as well. We have
received forgiveness by His mercy and salvation by His grace, and should be
eternally thankful.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
(1 Thessalonians 5:16–18)
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