On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,[f] who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
Could it be that when you are in the covenant that you take things for granted? Could it be that, that which is so amazing to someone else, becomes, if truth be told, something that you fail to see as all that amazing and exceptional? Or even that you deem to be your right?
Could it be that we are tempted to have the same heart toward God? That when things go our way, when there are blessings, that we do NOT fall at his feet in thanksgiving because, well, of course He would do that for us, after all…After all…what? After all, look who we are??? After all I am a covenant child…after all… He owes us?
I wonder if OUR thankfulness isn’t short lived, neglected, whisked away after a quick acknowledgement, so that we can move onto more important matters, you know, the real issues of the Christian life. WE might be much more akin to the 9 lepers than we are to the one…and that should bother us.
Thankfulness, a true sense of what has been done for us, is an integral part of the rhythm of faith. It is what maturing faith cannot live without expressing, it literally overtakes us, whenever there is thought of what our God has done, and what He continues to do, in fact, we LIVE in that thought, it is descriptive of our being, our person.
But it is not just in the big things, which it most certainly must be, but faith sees the hand of God, the love of God, the generosity of God in all things, at every turn, and is constantly returning with a loud voice, constantly glorifying God and falling down at the feet of Jesus.
We see this throughout the Bible, over and over again we find the people of God wrapped up in pride which demonstrated itself in that the people were ingrates! That is what pride does, it strips away thankfulness, because to be truly thankful requires humility, it requires that we understand who we are and what it is that we REALLY deserve.
And because our God delights to show us mercy, grace and covenant love, we erupt in thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is an expression of our dependence upon another and is a confession that He, the one to whom we are thankful, is greater than we are.
You might object and say, “I know God is greater than me, and I know what I deserve…” Really, if that is true then, are you a thankful person? You are commonly overheard praising God for all that he has and is doing on your behalf? And this must be a big deal, for in Romans where we have this list of sins that are awful, homosexuality, violence, unforgiveness, idolatry and others…we read, “nor where they thankful.”
Brothers and sisters, we are not talking about simply saying things like, “Yea I have a lot to be thankful for…” which is no doubt true. We are, again, talking about the rhythm of faith, a life that is filled with thanksgiving and gratitude toward God. A life that sees everything, from the colors painted in the sky, to the daily provision of our needs, the directing of pleasant and unpleasant providences, the blessing of our sons, daughters and spouses, to the glories of the covenant of grace and our position as righteous in Christ…
…all of this and a thousand other things all blended together, woven in a tapestry of life that leaves us void of pride, complaining, grumbling and discontentment…
…and filled with thanksgiving and so much so that whatever thread of life is pulled out and whenever it might GET pulled out, one would find the heart of thanksgiving, praise and love for Christ.
I told some of you some years ago about an elderly woman in our church on the mountain. She is now in the presence of her King and the saints of God. Her name was Penelope Craig Lyons, my granddaughter Penny is named after her. Some years ago, I was called early in the morning to go to her home. Her daughter had been killed in a car accident and she was just then getting the news of her loss. She was on the phone when I opened her door, hearing from a family member of her daughter’s passing, she literally collapsed into my arms.
I sat with Craig for most of the day as many people came by and the phone seemed to ring incessantly, more people for her to talk to, and to explain what had happened. And in her grief and tears, through pain that only a mother could know, she never stopped giving praise to God, thanksgivings pouring out of her.
I was literally dumbfounded, that in such a circumstance as this, when anyone would have given her room to be less…I certainly would have…this dear sister would not cease giving thanks to her Father in heaven…And in the hearing of every visitor and to the ear of every caller.
Craig’s life for all who knew her was a wonderful picture of what the handiwork of Jesus is about…it is a wonderful picture of how regardless of what circumstances come, faith’s rhythm gloriously directs the heart of God’s children.
And here is why I retell her story to you: You can’t outline this. You can’t set it forth in a proposition and think to do it justice. You can’t lecture this into being. And more importantly, you won’t have this kind of faith, this kind of thankfulness in the moment, if it has not been the practice of your Christian life. This is faith’s work…this is symphonic…an other-worldly reality and is in imitation of the Lord Jesus.
Jesus, in the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks…he broke it. Have you ever stopped to think about that? Jesus, knowing what is before him, knowing the agony, the pain, the separation from the Father that was only hours away, could not help but give thanks to His Father.
Thankfulness was just part of who he was, it could not be separated out from his being. It wasn’t something He had to go and do, or set aside time for, it wasn’t something that he could check off on his spiritual to do list…it was who He was!
And brothers and sisters, this is who we are to be…filled with thankfulness to our God who does all things well! We are to be always returning to Him, always crying out with a loud voice…always falling at the Savior’s feet to bless Him and give praise to our God. This is part of the tapestry of the Christian life, this is the rhythm of faith.
Prayer: Father, instead of being thankful, I give in to the temptations to seek my own pleasure and to set myself up as sovereign which seems to be so foolish and yet so real. Forgive me for thinking that I can find peace, joy and any kind of happiness apart from You and Your Word. Give me holy ambitions, desires and pursuits that I might please You with my mind, heart and actions, and may it begin with a thoroughly thankful heart, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Gospel Song: Where He Leads Me, I Will Follow