There is a proverb which says, ““No gift is truly ours till we have thanked the giver.”
We’ve come to the end of our week of reflection on Luke 17:11-19.
What we have learned is that Jesus grace/blessed/healed ten lepers. Still, sadly, only one, a Samaritan, returned to give thanks.
I wonder what was going on in his mind.
Maybe he thought that if leprosy were God’s judgment, then healing must be God’s mercy.
Maybe he realized that since Jesus had been the vehicle through whom God had brought him healing, maybe also Jesus could be the vehicle through whom God could cleanse him from a heart broken by sin.
Maybe he was just following the counsel he’d been given by his mother during his youth: “When somebody does something nice, what do you say? You say: ‘Thank you!'”
Whatever it was that brought him back, when he fell at Jesus feet he found something more than just healing. He discovered that God’s grace is NOT (just) about getting stuff (even stuff like the restoration of a broken down body). The man discovered that the grace Jesus provided led directly into a relationship with the Divine.
Far too often we remain content with what we think we can get from God. The challenge for us when we are stuck in that rut is to learn to look for something more. It will be there, by the way. It will be staring you right in the face.
I offer this challenge with complete confidence because I know that the Father, Son, and Spirit have so much more to give than just stuff. In fact, God’s greatest gift to us all is the gift of God’s self.
God is constantly present. That’s GRACE. With grateful faith won’t you acknowledge and respond to that Divine presence. When you do they you too will hear Jesus say, “Go your way, your faith has saved you!”
“No gift is truly ours till we have thanked the giver.” Offer thanks to God the great grace giver and experience the full blessings of his salvation, through Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen!
21 Prayers of Gratitude: Overcoming Negativity Through the Power of Prayer and God’s Word (A Life of Gratitude)
by: Shelley Hitz
publisher: Body and Soul Publishing, published: 2012-10-01
ASIN: B009KUE87W
sales rank: 2132
Prayers Are Powerful
