If we look at Luke 17:11-19 we will see that Jesus healed 10 lepers, but only one leper returned after he was healed to say thank you to Jesus. What is even more interesting is that the single leper that came back was not even a Jew, but a Samaritan (a foreigner), and Jesus asked "Where are the other 9?"
We as believers need to stop grumbling and complaining so much. We need to start thanking God for His goodness and His grace poured out towards each one of us. There is an old saying that I read just recently which says, "Do not grumble because you do not get what you want; but rather be grateful that you don't get what you deserve." Not one of us deserves to go to Heaven, not one of us deserves salvation, not one of us deserves to meet Jesus Christ face-to-face one day but because of His goodness towards us, those of us who believe that He is the Son of God, will meet Him in paradise and live with Him forever.
A man by the name William Tiptaft said, "God is pleased with gratitude because He gets so little of it." We need to start to be grateful for what we've got and stop complaining about what we haven't got.
There is a story of a little boy who had no shoes and he was continually grumbling to his mother about it. Until one day when he was walking down the street, he saw a little boy being wheeled down the street in a wheelchair and he had no feet. From that moment onwards the little boy never grumbled again.
I remember preaching in a Church in Johannesburg many years ago and on the wall inside the Church, in bright neon lights was written "Missionary work is gratitude for Calvary." I've never forgotten that. We don't preach the Gospel for anything else, but because we love Jesus and He has called us to go into all the world and to preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).
As a farmer, I'm sitting in my quiet time room and I am listening to the gentle rain falling on top of my tin roof. The air is pregnant with moisture and the trees are dripping with drops of rain - I'm so thankful.
Let us not take God's blessings for granted, because not one of us deserves anything from God. Let us rather be grateful for every drop of rain that we have got. Instead of saying "It's not enough", let us rather rephrase that comment and say "God thank you for giving us the life support we need by sending this gentle, beautiful rain."
How can we show God in a practical way that we truly love Him and that we truly are grateful for the promise we have of eternal life, not because of our good works, but because we believe?
We can show Jesus by telling others about Him. By telling others with a positive attitude that Jesus Christ is Lord and that nothing can happen to us without His permission. The most grateful man that I believe in The Bible was Job, the farmer. He was not a fair-weather Christian and he loved God unconditionally. He refused to speak badly about God and his very own wife said "Why don't you curse God and die." Job lost everything, his possessions, his health and his farm etc. but he continued to say in The Book of Job 13:15 (NKJV), "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."
That is gratitude and saying "Thank you Lord, I love You unconditionally." That is what God is requiring from you and me this year; unconditional love, much gratitude and thankfulness for saving and giving us an eternal future.
God bless
Angus Buchan
