MIF 17:5 (Sept-Oct 1985)
Praise and Thanksgiving
“Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’” (Luke 17:17-18, NIV).
Ten lepers called on Jesus to have mercy on them. He sent them to the priests to be officially declared clean and they were healed as they went. One of the ten, a Samaritan, returned to give glory to God and thanks to the Lord Jesus for making him clean. He received a spiritual blessing as well as a physical cure.
There is a vital message here for us. God has bountifully provided for our daily needs — material, physical and spiritual. Yet how feebly and infrequently we pause to give Him our praise and gratitude. In fact, we should praise God for our afflictions as well as our blessings, for “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28) .
So let us ask ourselves: Am I one of the nine? Am I giving to God the thanks He wants and deserves? Have I been spared from harm and neglected to give Him the glory? Have I received God’s mercy and acted as though I were entitled to it instead of acknowledging it as a sign of His unmerited favor? Have I been relieved of suffering or sickness and not returned to give Him thanks? Have I in any way been ungrateful for His continued lovingkindness? Let us be continually giving thanks to God for His goodness and mercy, taking our place with the one who returned to glorify God and fell at the feet of the Saviour, giving Him thanks. This requires true humility and love, the marks of a true Christian.
“O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever” (Psalm 107:1) .
—Arthur F. Wilder