Forget to Thank Anyone Today?
how about the most important one…
'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? Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” ' Luke 17:11-17,19
we want what we want when we want it. not a few minutes, not later, but now. that’s pretty much how most people desire things that want badly.
in this story, there were 10 men who had an illness and cried out to Jesus. this is significant in that there’s no reference that they went to the priests or so-called “healers” to make them better. it’s as if they knew only He could make them well. fortunately, our Lord did hear them and with compassion did what they shouted out for - healed them of leprosy.
in a hurry because of their good fortune of being cleansed, and the instructions by Jesus to “show themselves to the priests,” they forgot to show appreciation to the very person they yelled out to have mercy on them that stopped and did just that. only one took the time to thank the Lord.
perhaps some of you can relate; i know i can. there was a time roughly 20 years ago at my marketing job. God opened many doors and showed me favor. i became rookie of the year in the west coast, closing many big deals and leading our division to be #1.
what i failed to do was bring God glory and selfishly put it on myself that i did all of it. the difference with this story and mine is that my success came with a big kick in the butt when all things came crashing down shortly thereafter. i don’t believe that God was punishing me. it was simply a reminder that all good and perfect gifts come from The Father; what i have can easily be taken away.
fast forward to a 15+ year career there, The Lord redeemed me, allowed me to continue to have success as i tried my best to model what living like a Christian should look like. i was by no means perfect, only that i remembered to give God all the glory, honor, and praise because He was always faithful and good to my family and i. gratitude speaks volumes to those who care for and love you. it is my appreciation for what Jesus has done that allows me to do so.
dear Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, thank you for who you are - God, Creator, Protector, Lord, Savior, Provider, Prince of Peace, Friend, and countless other words to describe you. may i never get that and confuse myself of only what you do for me/us. teach me and my family to have gratitude in our hearts and on our lips, each and every day. in Jesus’ name i pray, amen!