However, as I think about the things I’m truly thankful for I’m reminded
of a story from Luke 17.
Jesus was walking along the road between Samaria and Galilee. As
he entered a small town he noticed ten men standing off at a distance. They
were lepers. Recognizing Him as Jesus, the one who could heal, they lifted up
their voices and cried, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” They couldn't come any
closer. They could only raise their voices and hope that he would hear them and
have mercy.
Seeing their condition, Jesus cried to them, “Go and show yourselves to
the priest.” In their faith all ten went, and in faith all ten were made clean.
But only one returned to thank and praise the God.
We often think of those other nine lepers as being ungrateful and
unappreciative, but I think it’s more than that. They were healed! They could
return to their families, their jobs, their old life. They had a lot to be
excited about, but in their excitement they lost focus of what's really
important, of who is really important.
Their focus was on the gift and not the Giver.
It would be easy
for us this Thanksgiving to spend all our time focusing on the gifts we've been
given. We give thanks for our food, family, and friends. We are grateful for
our health, our wealth, and our material possessions.
But these gifts are temporary. Our health will fail, and our money
will be spent. Our things will break and those we are closest to will at some
point let us down.
Only the Giver remains completely faithful, completely unchanging, and
completely worthy of our praise.
So this Thanksgiving as you carve your turkey and eat your pie,
remember that the biggest blessings in life are the ones that won’t fade away
and fail—the blessings that are found only in the promises of God and who He
is:
Saving Grace
Unfailing Mercy
Promise of Eternal Life
Hope in the Resurrection
Faith to live this life in light of things to come.
Unfailing Mercy
Promise of Eternal Life
Hope in the Resurrection
Faith to live this life in light of things to come.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Wonderful post! I wrote about something similar recently. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a very special post and encourages us to focus on the right things. Thanks for linking up this week over at WholeHearted Home Wednesdays.
ReplyDeleteI like the layout of your blog. It is restful and refreshing.
Thanks!
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