Give Thanks To God
"One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God imn a loud voice."
-- Luke 17:15
I love the story of the 10 lepers. I think it clearly illustrates how most of us are in life -- so focused on ourselves that we fail to thank God for all the blessings he bestows on us.
For those unfamiliar with the story, 10 lepers cried out to Jesus for healing. They were outcasts because of their disease and required to stay away from others. Jesus did have pity on them. He told them to go and show themselves to the priest. That was required before a leper could rejoin others. What fascinates me is that they immediately left to go to the priest -- before they were healed. The Bible tells us "And as they went, they were cleansed." Amazing!
I want to have that kind of faith, to know without doubt that God will always do exactly what He says. I want to believe that way. But I also want to thank God for all He does for me. Because the sad part of this story is that only one of the 10 returned to thank Jesus. That person was a Samaritan, a foreigner, a member of a race despised by the Jews.
God does so many wonderful things for me each day. The other day a deer stopped just short of the new car I was driving. I was thankful for what didn't happen because, honestly, I didn't have anything to do with it. God did it all. I'm thankful for the food I eat, for the opportunity to work, for my health. I am thankful for the rain, for my family and friends, for this great country we live in. It's so easy to focus on the negative but we have so many things to thank God for.
God is gracious and kind. He loves us and does good for us and to us because of that love. But just as we like to hear others thank us for our good deeds, God would like to hear praise and thanks from us. Not because we have to but because we want to. Because we love Him and we know our lives are in His hands.
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