Giving thanks

When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself to the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. Jesus said, ‘There were ten who were healed; where are the other nine? Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Get up and go; your faith has made you well.’ (verses 15-19)

Read Luke 17:11-19

Isn’t it great to receive a word of thanks and recognition for something you’ve done? You feel about ten feet tall and walk about with a warm glow all day.

How do you feel when you’ve done something for someone, given up valuable time, put a lot of effort into it and receive no thanks? If you’ve had that experience, you can imagine how Jesus felt when only one out of ten returned to thank him for saving them from a fate worse than death.

Can you imagine how God feels when we fail to thank him? He gave us life. He provides for us lavishly every day. He loves us so much he sent his Son to give his life for us. Can you imagine how Jesus feels when we fail to thank him for leaving his Father, coming to earth, living with ridicule and being tried, spat on, tortured and hung on a cruel cross to die-just for us?

He saved us from a fate worse than death.

Dear Father, forgive me when I fail to give you the praise and thanks you deserve. Jesus, forgive me for failing to love and thank you as I should. Holy Spirit, help me to continually praise the Triune God for all the blessings I can’t even begin to count. Amen.

by Merna Thamm, in ‘Guidance for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2002)

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