But where are the nine?
November 24, 2010“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (I Thessalonians 5:18)
“For everything write thank you notes: for this is the will of your Mother concerning you.” (The Book of Amelia and Gloria)
Our very gracious mothers are devout believers in writing “thank you” notes and it is something both of them have instilled in us since we were very young. For that instruction, we are most grateful, because in many ways giving thanks is often overlooked even though it is the will of God concerning all of us.
In Luke 17:11-19, we read of ten lepers who lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master have mercy on us.” In His generous graciousness, Jesus did have mercy on the ten and cleansed them of their leprosy. “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?’”
In addition to mothers around the world, God desires for His children to possess an attitude of gratitude as it is a key ingredient for joyful living. However, if gratitude is so vital why isn’t everyone grateful? Many obstacles to being grateful exist, and chief among them may be a sense of entitlement which suggests that others owe us, that we deserve something from somebody else. With this mentality, even if we receive something, it not a gift but a right. Another stumbling block to gratitude is familiarity. The more we are exposed to a particular blessing in life, the more likely we are to take it for granted and, as a result, we begin to feel entitled and less grateful.
Even though we delight in the Word of God daily, we never feel overexposed to it or take it for granted. And never do we want to be like the nine who failed to glorify God by returning thanks to Him for His unending mercies . We hope in this Thanksgiving season that you would feel the same and experience the joy of becoming more familiar with God’s Word and thus, desiring it more. After all, words matter, and God’s Word matters most.
With thanksgiving and much love,
Cammy and Sheryl
Looking for more words? Please read Psalm 103