The Giver of Thanksgiving

Well it’s Thanksgiving time again! For most of us that means lots of food, lots of traveling, and a lot of family. It's a lot to be thankful for!  

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.

Happy Thanksgiving.