"And it came to pass, as He (Jesus) went to Jerusalem, that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered into a certain village, He was met by ten men who were lepers, and they stood far away: and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And He said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." Luke 17:11-19
Thanksgiving is here, a National Holiday which dedicates a single day in our calendar year to pause and Give Thanks. You may have expected a historical dissertation today on the elements of that first thanksgiving so long ago, but I have something else on my heart to share instead. I believe that Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays of the year, why? Because as Christians, we need to stand up and share boldly that we DO have a Heavenly Father that deserves our gratitude and praise for the wonderful things He does in our lives every moment of our existence from the moment we took our first breath to the instant we cross from this life into eternity.
It seems to me that this holiday is slowly being pushed aside as time goes by, and I wonder why as I watched the advertisements for “Black Friday” and the Christmas season begin to prematurely unfold everywhere I turn. I wondered why we diminish this great opportunity to pause and reflect on the blessings we have as people, as parents, as employees, as families, as Americans… Is it because we have less to be thankful for? I sincerely do not think so. In fact, we have MORE and MORE than any generation before us, and we seem to be the most spoiled and the most ungrateful as time goes on. Is it because we foolishly think we are self sufficient and do not need to thank anyone else but ourselves? Or is it because this generation has turned so far from God that they don’t feel that they need to say Thank You to Him because if they said thank you to God, they would have to acknowledge a Heavenly Benefactor that they don’t even want to believe exists anymore. People tend to forget to be grateful when things are good, and tend to complain and accuse God of not caring when things are tough. We are like a bunch of spoiled children. We often even treat God as though He owes us something. When 9-11 happened, the churches were filled to overflowing (for a few months), and then we returned to our status quo of assuming that our security depended upon us… how foolish we are. When the fires swept through our local communities, people who had lost everything were grateful for their lives and the lives of their family members. How much MORE should we be thankful when we are not troubled by disaster or disease or famine or death. Unfortunately, sometimes we forget about all the good things that God has done for us and promised to us, and we lose focus and become ungrateful or indifferent towards God. As a matter of fact, the Bible warns that in the last days, people will become more and more selfish and less thankful to God. People will even stop acknowledging that they have any reason to be thankful to God. In 2 Timothy 3:1-2 it reads, "Know this also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy..." This passage pretty much nails our current generation, that in the last days, people would become unthankful. How many of you would agree that we are living in a society that has become unthankful? People don't acknowledge God anymore or give Him the credit He deserves as Creator of the universe. Scientists would rather believe that we evolved from primordial slime than to be thankful to God for creating us. We live in an “entitled” generation, that things are just owed to us (like jobs and financial security and such) and we become irritated when they are not. Children are less grateful for their parents. Church goers are forgetful that they are blessed with houses of worship and are not persecuted for their faith or their attendance. People are no longer thankful that Christ died on the cross for their sins. They feel that they can save themselves or make it to heaven on their own terms. People don't give God honor and glory for their success in business. They will tell you it's because of their own hard work that they have accomplished these things. A lot of people don't even call Thanksgiving Day "Thanksgiving." They'd rather call it "Turkey Day." Yes, being thankful seems to be a thing of the past.
Our passage today is a Biblical story of thanksgiving, even if there are no turkeys or pilgrims or Native Americans. It is a story that sometimes is overlooked in the gospels, but a compelling reminder to us that God’s graciousness is poured out upon us. We have here ten men who had much to be thankful to Jesus for. But after they got through the hard times and were healed, only one returned and told Jesus thanks. What about you? When you receive a blessing or answered prayer from the Lord, will you be like the nine who never came back to tell Jesus thank you, or are you going to be like the one who fell at Christ's feet? How do you think that Jesus felt when only one man out of ten bothered to come back to say thank you?
During this Thanksgiving season, please remember this one truth: God doesn't want us to say thank you just because He needs to hear it. I believe that He wants you to be thankful because He knows that your thankfulness will keep you close to Him. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 reminds us, "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." This verse is saying that God wants you to find something to be thankful about no matter what is going on in your life. If you are seeking God’s will, this verse tells you what it is: It is the Will of God concerning you…to give thanks. So, as you sit down at your family table, or wherever you celebrate Thanksgiving, pause and think of just ONE thing, big or small, and bow your head and give thanks to GOD for it. Honor God with your thanksigivng, bless Him with your humble heart of gratefulness, and then maintain an attitude of gratitude every day of the year.
Happy THANKSgiving Day to you, my beloved brothers and sisters!
Shalom, sister Lahoma
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