On being Grateful. Luke 17:11-19 Faith, forgiveness, and duty are vital aspects of the Christian walk, but thanking God for His blessings is also a key part of a disciple's life in Jesus Christ. When we pray, we connect with our heavenly Father through specific prayers, supplications, intercessions, and thanksgivings. The prayers of Paul in his epistles are filled with gratitude for many different reasons. As God's servants, everything He does in and through us is a reason to give thanks. We are unworthy servants at best, and all the blessings we receive come from God. It is only right that we give God all the glory!
The attitude of gratitude should become a habit developed through ongoing practice. “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Making eye contact with someone who has helped us in a way that makes life easier deepens our sincerity and gratitude toward the one who has blessed us. Sincere words spoken when we pause to say “Thank you” to anyone, especially our Father in heaven, carry much more meaning than quick words said on the move.
These days, when we encounter an “epidemic of discourtesy,” where a brief text message lacking real words is sent, it sends a clear unspoken message that I am too busy to genuinely consider your help. It’s somewhat like saying, “Thanks, but I haven’t got time to talk because what I am doing is more important than what you did for me.” Sometimes, receiving a card with handwritten words and a signature can hold such meaning that it makes us emotional, as we realize our actions have significant value to someone else.
An ungrateful person is generally unhappy, and the opposite is true. A grateful person has enough insight to understand that a helpful gift or action comes with a cost. Someone has paid a price to make this benefit available to me. Usually, a grateful person is a happy one. Some of the hymns of praise we sing seem to express the feelings of a grateful person quite well. For example: “And when I think that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross my burden gladly bearing; He bled and died to take away my sin. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee – ‘How great Thou art, how great Thou art!’”
The journey of the Lord Jesus Christ to Jerusalem took Him along the border of Galilee and Samaria, where ten lepers called to Him from a distance. “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Those words showed their faith in Him, as they knew He had healed other lepers, and what He had done for others, He could do for them. Unlike the one leper from a previous incident who had fallen before the Lord and been touched by Him to be cleansed, these men “stood afar off.” They understood that the contagious disease made them outcasts who had to keep their distance from others.
When the Lord looks at people, He does so with spiritual insight that “looks upon the heart.” Their hope and trust are in the Lord Jesus, and they believe He can heal their bodies. Many people call on the Lord when they face difficult situations where no one else can help. When they ask God for help, He hears and often answers their prayers. However, just because He answers doesn't mean they are children of God. We become children of God by faith in Jesus Christ, the Person, not just by the words He speaks. It is possible to acknowledge that His words are true, yet not trust Him as our own personal Savior. Faith in Christ as our Savior from sin and its consequences is different from simply believing that God can do what people cannot.
The ten lepers knew they were lepers and did not need the priest to tell them. What they did was act on the words of Jesus, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” He wasn’t dismissing their request but affirming what the law stated, applying those words to those men personally. To their credit, they obeyed the words of Jesus before they were even cleansed, demonstrating their belief in His words and a willingness to act on them in faith. As they traveled to the priests, taking steps of faith, all of them were healed.
Responding to the word of God is how faith develops within us. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” For some reason, the despised Samaritan, who had the least reason to be blessed by the Messiah of the Jews, was the only one who returned to give thanks to the One who had blessed him by healing him. As he was on his face before the Lord Jesus, he was the only one of the ten who heard words that went beyond the healing of leprosy. “Arise, go your way. Your faith hath saved you (made you well).” His faith in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ saved his soul. It is essential and important to thank God for saving us forever and for keeping us daily through this journey in the world of sin.