Thanks 1
I prepared my 3 1/2 year old for trick or treating today by explaining that everytime someone gave him candy, he was to say "thank-you". We practiced it and he seemed to understand - or so I thought. Apparently I was wrong. The lesson obviously didn't sink in because house after house I had to instruct him to say thank-you to the person who had generously given him candy. Why was this?
Well, I can't go into Timmy's motives but I can think about myself. When do I find it hard to remember to say thank-you to others? to God? Often it is because my attention is so much on the gift and not the giver. Or I'm thinking of what is ahead now that the current obstacle is overcome.
Luke 17:11-19 tells an interesting story about thanksgiving. It's a story of 10 lepers who cry out to Jesus for pity and he tells them to "Go, show yourselves to the priests." (17:14) As they go, they are healed and one man - a Samaritan - upon realizing that he was healed, came back to Jesus, praising God in a loud voice, and "threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him" (17:16) Jesus asks about the other nine. "Was none found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"(17:18)
So here we have the wrong guy (a non-Israelite) with a condition that makes him an outcast (leprosy) doing the right thing (observing his healing, going back to Jesus) and saying the right thing (praising God and thanking Jesus). Words of genuine thanksgiving come as we:
- acknowledge the gifts we have been given
- acknowledge the Giver of these gifts
Like the Samaritan leper, we need to notice what God has done in our lives. But noticing isn't the end. The next step is to direct our attention to God and offer our thanks to Him. It's similar to an exhortation the Apostle Paul gives in Colossians 4:2:
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."
The words of thanksgiving that are ours to speak start with a silenced tongue and observant eyes. If this is an area of your life that you would like to grow in, let me suggest -
1. Take some time everyday (even 2 minutes) to look at your life and what God has done in it.
2. Simple say "thanks". This doesn't have to be fancy. It's as easy as saying, "Thank-you Lord for...." and you fill in the blank.
Well, I can't go into Timmy's motives but I can think about myself. When do I find it hard to remember to say thank-you to others? to God? Often it is because my attention is so much on the gift and not the giver. Or I'm thinking of what is ahead now that the current obstacle is overcome.
Luke 17:11-19 tells an interesting story about thanksgiving. It's a story of 10 lepers who cry out to Jesus for pity and he tells them to "Go, show yourselves to the priests." (17:14) As they go, they are healed and one man - a Samaritan - upon realizing that he was healed, came back to Jesus, praising God in a loud voice, and "threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him" (17:16) Jesus asks about the other nine. "Was none found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"(17:18)
So here we have the wrong guy (a non-Israelite) with a condition that makes him an outcast (leprosy) doing the right thing (observing his healing, going back to Jesus) and saying the right thing (praising God and thanking Jesus). Words of genuine thanksgiving come as we:
- acknowledge the gifts we have been given
- acknowledge the Giver of these gifts
Like the Samaritan leper, we need to notice what God has done in our lives. But noticing isn't the end. The next step is to direct our attention to God and offer our thanks to Him. It's similar to an exhortation the Apostle Paul gives in Colossians 4:2:
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."
The words of thanksgiving that are ours to speak start with a silenced tongue and observant eyes. If this is an area of your life that you would like to grow in, let me suggest -
1. Take some time everyday (even 2 minutes) to look at your life and what God has done in it.
2. Simple say "thanks". This doesn't have to be fancy. It's as easy as saying, "Thank-you Lord for...." and you fill in the blank.
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