I have to admit…I love Thanksgiving. What a great time of food, family, friends, fellowship, and football. Thanksgiving is one of those holiday’s that I look forward to the most. No, No … not just because food’s involved (although it does add greatly). But it is a time of reflection on the Lord, to give Him thanks for everything He has blessed us with. So many times, I consistently ask the Lord for one thing after another after another, and yet forget to stop and say, “Thank You,” “Thank You for eternal life. Thank You for a great family. Thank You for health. Thank You for a wonderful ministry. Thank You for another day to serve You.”
It’s funny because Allyson and I, as most parents do, have attempted to teach our boys to say “thank you” after asking for something. Most would agree that this seems to be simplest thing to teach our children. I mean…how hard it should be to expect them to say “please and thank you?”As I was thinking about our progress as parents this week, I couldn’t help but to ponder, “Does the Lord need to teach us to say thank you or does it come from our mouths with a heartfelt thankfulness that the Lord deserves?” Are we truly thankful, even though we claim to be very thankful? Do we need a lesson on thankfulness?
The subject of thankfulness reminds me of the story in Luke 17 where Jesus heals the ten lepers. In verse 13 these lepers ask the Lord to have mercy on them. I am sure you have heard the story. One came back, a dirty, rotten Samaritan, to give thanks to the Lord for what He had done. Jesus asks, “Where are the nine?” Now wait a minute… The Lord knew that they were thankful. In fact, He knew that they were probably too excited. They were sharing the news with their families and friends. Why would Jesus expect them to come back and say thank you? Of all people didn’t Jesus know of their thankfulness?
We can speculate. We can believe that the rest of the former lepers were thankful. But thankfulness is not an understood word or an obvious thought. Thankfulness is an action. It is taking a step in our life to show what our heart really feels. Of course if some asked the other nine if they were thankful, they probably would have said, “very thankful.” But thankfulness is not words, but a life action.
Is your life a demonstration of thankfulness or is thankfulness a day of the year, a word from a mouth, a thought from your mind? Are you truly thankful with your life?
