Thank You Lord

On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11-19 ESV). November is a month of thanksgiving. Later we’ll spend some time looking more in depth at the way we celebrate and give thanks; however, today I wanted to call us to focus on the ease at which we fail in thanking God. Our reading today is a clear example of how easy it is to forget to just say thanks. The truth is that we are all created to give thanks to God. We have been created to bring glory to God. It is the highest use of our mind and body. God wants to hear us give Him praise. We need to give God what He deserves, and that is glory. Far too often we are like the 10 men who suffered with leprosy and called out loudly to Jesus for intervention. He graciously heard their prayer and healed all of them of their dreaded disease. But only one returned to thank Him. Jesus said in response, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" (cf. v.17). Often we are quick to ask God for help during times of crisis, but we are very slow to offer Him thanks after He intervenes on our behalf. In doing so, we are essentially telling Him, "Thanks, God. See you next crisis." When those leprosy-stricken men saw Jesus, they cried out loudly for His touch. But only one came back to loudly thank Him (see Luke 17:15–16). I’m sure they all had reasonable things to offer in excuse. Perhaps they were so overjoyed they got caught up in celebrating with their families they had not been able to see in such a long time. Perhaps they were overcome with the shear amazement of being clean and well for the first time in their remembered lives. Perhaps they went to town to find better clothes to come back later when they were more presentable. Maybe it was just a matter of poor timing and they missed Jesus along the way. I’m sure they each had a reasonable excuse. However, none of those nine stood innocent of their failure. Neither are we when we fail to thank God. His praise ought to be on our mind for every breath we take and every thought we possess. We should be as devoted in our praise to God as we are in crying out to Him for help. How are you doing with your thanksgiving?