The changing season brings cooler temperatures, falling leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, chunky sweaters, fuzzy socks, and football. And this time of year, our thoughts begin to move toward Thanksgiving. And while most of us generally walk around each day feeling grateful, there is a significant distinction between feeling grateful and expressing thanks.
Never is this distinction felt more than as a parent. Being a parent feels the majority of the time like a thankless job. When we get a thumbs up or a sincere “thank you” from our kids, it is generally enough to sustain us for several months. The majority of the time, I find myself hoping that someday they will look back and appreciate the job my husband and I have tried to do as parents (not perfect but trying really hard and relying on God’s grace to carry us through). With each passing day, I certainly grow more thankful for my own parents.
And just as we parents appreciate thanks, scripture is clear that our Heavenly Father appreciates it even more. In fact, expressing our thanks to Him should really be an element of our daily prayers. You’ve heard that saying “What if tomorrow I had only the things for which I thanked God today?” For me, that is a humbling question.
Source: Pinterest
So, how do we know how the Lord really feels about expressing thanks? A great lesson in this can be found in Luke 17:11 – 19.
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? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
For those living in Jesus’ time here on earth, leprosy was one of the worst forms of disease. It caused severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage in the arms and legs. But even worse than the extraordinary pain that came along with the disease was the social stigma. Although we now understand that leprosy is actually not that contagious, back in those days people suffering with the disease were shunned as outcasts. And given the outward signs of the disease, it was obvious to everyone if you were considered “a leper.” These ten men who were living through the nightmare of leprosy literally cried out to Jesus for help. And just as we would expect, Jesus had compassion on them. He showed them love, mercy, and grace and healed their hurting and diseased ridden bodies.
In an instant, the pain was gone, the sores were healed, they could feel sensation in their nerves, and they were free of the terrible disease that had made their lives a miserable existence. I am certain that all ten men were grateful. How could they not be? Their lives were forever changed. They had hope when they thought all hope was lost. And yet, only one came back to throw himself at Jesus’ feet and express thanks. He praised Jesus for the blessing of his healing.
It is clear from the scripture that Jesus was disappointed that only one returned to offer thanks even saying aloud, “where are the other nine?” And just as disappointed as He was in the other nine, it was obvious how satisfied Jesus was with the one that acknowledged his savior.
Like me, perhaps this passage of scripture causes you to wonder how many blessings, how many acts of love, mercy, grace, and healing in our lives have we failed to thank Christ for? If we truly prayed each day with an element of thanksgiving not only in our hearts but fully expressed to our Lord, I can only imagine how our attitudes and perspectives might change.
My prayer is that unlike the nine who were recipients of Jesus’ amazing grace and kept right on going never acknowledging the blessings received, we will instead be like the one who came back. That we will throw ourselves at His feet, recognizing His love, mercy, and provision in our lives, and realizing each day the source of our hope is Jesus.
