It wasn’t that long ago that a friend had invited me to their wedding. Well I was unable to make it but I sent a gift along with a mutual friend. Several weeks later in the mail I had received a thank you note for that gift. It made me feel good that they took the time to send me a note to let me know that they received and enjoyed the gift.
Remember when you were a child and someone would do something nice for you and your parents would say to you, “Now, what do you say?” You knew what to say, but often you’d forget without that prodding from a parent.
Now in Luke 17:17 we see Jesus coming near a group of men with leprosy that call out to Him and ask for pity. When Jesus had heard them, He told them to go and show themselves to the priests. As they all began their trip back to the priest they noticed that all their sores and scars were gone. Jesus had healed them all. Now the men were so happy that they began to sing and dance in the streets, just filled with joy. One of them suddenly stopped and went back to Jesus. He began to praise God with a loud voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him. Now Jesus responded by asking him weren’t there ten of you, where are the other nine? Only one out of the ten remembered to say, “Thank You.”
This prompted me to consider all that He does in our lives, just providing everything we need such as food, clothing and a place to live. Do we, as often as we should, stop and praise and thank Him for all he provides and does for us?
Take time today to stop and thank Him and ask Him to prompt you, just like your parents used to, when you need to be more thankful. He expects it.
the Rear Pew 