Dear readers.
Have you enjoyed these warmer days? Me, too. I suspect we had better appreciate them, because it is a long time until spring weather returns.
We’ve been working in the house this past week, getting some new cabinets installed in the kitchen. I’m looking forward to the day I can finally say, “it is finished,” and I can sit down, look out the window and really enjoy the view. Now for some thoughts on Thanks Giving.
In Luke’s gospel, we read a story about ten men with leprosy, who encounter Jesus. They called out to Him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us.” He told them to go and show themselves to the priests, and as they went, they were healed.
We are told that one of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back, threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him. It was noted in the text that he was even a Samaritan.
Jesus then asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? The only one to come and thank me is this foreigner.” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11-19)
What made the one different? He noticed.
All ten were healed, but this Samaritan noticed. He returned to Jesus to give thanks for his healing. It’s hard not to say something, when something spectacular has happened.
Genuine thanksgiving is spontaneous, even involuntary—you recognize you have been blessed and can’t help but share your joy through thanksgiving.
By returning to Jesus, he is given a second gift. He leaves Jesus not only healed but also blessed in his own recognition of healing, blessed at being drawn into a deeper relationship with the one he thanks, blessed at hearing himself commended for having great faith.
That’s the way thanks-giving always works—in giving thanks for a gift given, we are blessed again.
Be grateful for blessings. That is called gratitude.
Be thankful, that is, give thanks for blessings of all sizes.
Notice your blessings. For those with eyes to see, God’s blessings are all around us. And as we give thanks for them, we notice even more and are blessed over and over.
In this season of Thanksgiving, are you thanking the Lord for His many blessings? After all, He is the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).
Praise Him,
Pastor Jerry
sandhillspastor 
Posted by Ernesto E. Carrasco, M.C.Ed. on November 22, 2014 at 5:37 pm
I’m impressed by the fact that Luke points out that the the grateful leper was a Samaritan. Too often, we who are of the “household” take our blessings for granted. Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
Posted by sandhillspastor on November 22, 2014 at 7:02 pm
Thanks for the good words.
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