In Luke 17 the story is told of Jesus coming upon 10 lepers who begged Him from a distance to heal them. Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priest. When they had done so they saw that they were healed. One of the men came back and threw himself at Jesus feet praising Jesus and thanking Him for restoring his health. Jesus asked, "Where are the other 9, weren't they healed?" It bothered Jesus that He blessed these men and only 1 returned to thank Him; only 1 praised Him, worshiped Him, or gave Him credit!
I am sure that the other 9 were excited. I bet they threw parties, cried, ran to tell everyone what had happened to them. What they didn't do was something so simple. They didn't thank Jesus.
In Romans 1 Paul tells us that one of the first steps toward having a mind completely distorted by sin is that people stop glorifying and thanking God. (Romans 1:21).
Why is Jesus concerned with our thankfulness? How can this be the first step toward a mind controlled by sin?
When we become un-thankful to God for all the things He gives us it shows that we have forgotten where are blessings come from. One man remembered that it was only by Jesus mercy that he was healed. The other 9 got so caught up in the blessing that they did what we do. They thought about themselves instead of God. It wouldn't have taken much time for them to stop and thank Jesus; just like it doesn't take us much time.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (James 1:17)
Absolutely all we have that is good in this life and the one to come came from God to us as a gift. We do not deserve His goodness. We complain about all that is wrong with our life, but all of that is because of our sin, the sin of others, or the fact that we live in a sin sick creation. We fail to give God any credit for the good things that we do have in our life. If it is good; it came from Him!
It is 3:30 A.M. on Wednesday morning. I am sitting at the bedside of my nephew who is 14 months old. He has tubes coming out everywhere and is breathing on a ventilator, but he is alive. It looks as though he may make a full recovery. Honestly, I am ashamed to say I don't think I had ever thanked God for his life. I had played with him, laughed with and at him, and missed him when he was gone, but I never thanked God for him. Since his illness I have probably prayed for him a thousand times. I have begged God to heal him and restore his life to him. It is strange how when something is taken from us we appreciate it, but when we have it we do not to the fullest. I believe that this is part of the sickness of sin running through us. I desire to grow in thankfulness to God for everything He has given me. I want to be more and more aware that anything good I have or ever hope to have will come from His hand. I know that the practice of this knowledge is a key to Godliness. The lack of it is the first step toward a sin sick mind. Lord make us thankful for your many gifts, remind us of your goodness, and heal us from the constant taking for granted of things that are precious to us ... Amen
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