Da Le Gracias - Give Him Thanks

This evening during ESL we read in Luke 17:12-19 about Jesus healing the 10 men with leprosy.

To have leprosy at that time was a very “unclean” thing, these people were shunned, sent out of the city, and set apart from everyone else. The fact that someone would approach them was unthinkable. Jesus not only approached them, but spoke to them; he sent them to see the priest and as they walked in obedience and faith to the priest they were cleansed of their disease; an extraordinary gift and blessing.

Only one of them came back to thank Jesus for what he had done. This one man realized that what Jesus had done, and was compelled to return to Jesus not only to acknowledge and thank Christ for this miracle but to throw himself at Jesus’ feet in the deepest and most sincere appreciation and gratitude. The other 9 may have continued to the priest or perhaps something else, we do not know. However, upon being healed they showed no appreciation to Christ they did not even acknowledge that he was the one who cured them; they took this amazing gift and gave Him who granted healing no recognition.

How often do we go through life taking credit for, or simply not acknowledging the provider of all the things that, when you sit and think about it, are marvelous gifts or blessings? Big or small they are all blessings and He deserves our recognition and thanks.

For example:

Family and friends. Whatever family we have is a blessing to have, we will not always have our family and friends; each second together is a gift. Thank God for whatever family and friends you have or have had the blessing of having.

All the material and physical supplies we need to live, talents/skills, knowledge, a job/income, food, a home/shelter, clothing, breathe, etc. These are all gifts. Be thankful to God for whatever amount of these things He has blessed you with, He knows exactly what we need.

Faith. What is the purpose of life without faith? What would we have to hope in? Absolutely nothing! The Bible tells us God is perfect! And only the perfect can dwell with Him in His sight. It also tells us we are all sinners, one tiny sin is all it takes for us to break the law. And the penalty for our sin is death and eternal separation from God in hell. We deserve death. But God in all His justice, had mercy on us. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Christ lived a perfect life, and “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ,” 2 Corinthians 5:21.  Jesus, who did not deserve to die, died in our place and paid the penalty of death that we deserve…  And Then! Not only did Jesus pay our penalty but He conquered the grave, He rose 3 days later and ascended into Heaven showing us that Christ was the Perfect Sacrifice, His sacrifice was enough to pay for ALL sin. WOW! What a Gift! Jesus Christ paid for my sins…all I have to do is accept His gift, “repent and believe,” Mark 1:15b. We have been given an immense amount of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Thank God for his mercy and grace through Jesus, and the hope that we now have to one day live in Heaven for all eternity.

All of these things are incredible gifts. If we stop and think about them we ought be compelled to acknowledge the One who has Provided us with all of these blessings, just like the one man healed from leprosy. Not one of us can take even the smallest bit of credit for any of these things. We did not get to choose our family, we did not get to pick our talents, though we may have chosen to invest time into certain ones, and we could not save ourselves from death.

Today I beg you to set aside some alone time to sit and reflect on all the gifts God has put in your life. I pray you are compelled, like the man, to 1. acknowledge our Provider and to 2. in your own way show God how appreciative you are for all you have been blessed with.

 Happy Thanksgiving.