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An Attitude of Gratitude
Luke 17:11-19
Ten lepers were healed of their dreadful, hopeless disease. Only one gave thanks to God. And that one was the least likely–he was a Samaritan, “a hated foreigner”–but he was the one that recognized that God was the true source of his healing. I believe that there is a truth simple in this short story from the Gospel of Luke: Gratitude is the key to wholeness. Please note that I said wholeness . . . and there can be a difference between healing and wholeness.All ten lepers were physically cleansed of their disease. They were free from their illness. Nine went about their business. Only one leper was made whole. I like how the New Jerusalem Bible translates Jesus statement to the one leper: “Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.”
Nine lepers got a new chance at life, but only one received a new life.The Samaritan discovered the key to fulfillment in life . . . to live in relationship with God . . . the Great Physician. Martin Luther said it this way, “The purpose of life is to know God and enjoy him forever.” Ten men were extremely fortunate that day because they were suddenly cleansed of their disease and given the opportunity to go back to their lives before they came down with leprosy. One man was truly saved because he found a new way of living. The nine went back. The one went forward. The key is gratitude–it is a true key to so many of life’s blessings. The true gift of wholeness or salvation only comes as we humble ourselves in faith before God who is the source of all blessings. There are so many people who are quite willing to receive the blessings of God, but they fail to draw closer to God by expressing gratitude to him for those blessings. If you want to move closer to God, try expressing your gratitude to him. That simple recognition of all that God does for us and how he blesses us . . . coupled with the recognition that it is not us, but God . . .changes our entire perspectives.Think about gratitude for a few moments. I would like to share four thoughts about it.
1. Living with Gratitude is a Decision
Jesus told the ten lepers to show themselves to the priests–the Old Testament book of Leviticus spelled out the requirements for lepers to be readmitted into society when they were cured. The rules were strict and the process took eight days after which a lengthy series of offerings had to be made. It is easy to understand how someone who had been separated from community, family and friends over a long period of suffering might be anxious to rush back and go through all the steps as quickly as possible.So it was on that day with the ten lepers. They obey the words of Jesus to go to the priest and begin the ritual purification process and while on the way, they discover they are “cleansed”–cured! Can you imagine what that must have been like for them? I could not count the times I’ve prayed with families who are waiting for results of a biopsy. The words, “It was not cancer,” have brought joy to so many hearts and celebration to many families. But there have also been other times when the diagnosis was not good–dread and sadness followed.It is understandable that these lepers might be so anxious to get back to their lives that they neglected to take the time to go back and say “Thank You.” Except for one and notice what the scripture says . . . “when he saw that he was healed he turned back . . .” His gratitude was a decision. He SAW and he TURNED BACK. The others saw and kept going. Gratitude is when we see the blessing and decide to take the time to thank the one who blessed us.
Let’s personalize it . . . How has it gone with you today so far? Have you taken time to “see” the blessings and give thanks? Gratitude is a decision.
2. Living with Gratitude Recognizes Life is a Blessing
Does it ever occur to you that many times the things we appreciate most are those that we’ve lost? Lost love, lost job, lost health. Who was it that said, “Youth is wasted on the young.”
And how many people do you know who have chronic health problems and they really never feel good? What can we learn? I saw an article on Martha Mason last week in The Charlotte Observer. It was really about Martha’s book being published by a national publisher, but the article talked about her life in an iron lung. One statement in the article stood out . . . it seems that Martha had a way of making her visitors feel better. Here was a woman who had been left severely limited by polio . . . living her life in an iron lung . . . some might wonder what kind of life she had . . . but she had such a spirit that she made other feel better. I think that Martha Mason lived gratitude and it transformed her spirit and through her transformed the people who came to visit.
Do you see? It’s all a gift. Life is not our due . . . whether it is doing whatever one wishes or whether it is lying in an iron lung. It is a blessing, and to recognize it as blessing transforms us. There are so many things that are not your’s and mine at all. They are gifts with which we are blessed. Health, life, beauty and love are all blessings for which we must be grateful, not belongings which we own.
The Samaritan who went back to Jesus knew very well that the health he once again had was a blessing from God. How quickly it could all be gone. His heart was filled with gratitude for the one who gave the gift.
3. Living with Gratitude Maximizes the Positive and Minimizes the Negative
I have shared this little poem for many years:
Two men looked out…
from behind prison bars,
One saw mud,
The other stars.
Both men had the same circumstances. Both looked out the same window. What was the
difference? Gratitude aims our spirits upward toward the stars. Ungratefulness aims us at the
mud.
Personalize with me again. Based on your experience with the people you know. Do you find
most people are quicker to pick up on the positive or the negative? Which is easier to get
started–a conversation about how terrible things are–or one about how wonderful things are?
Are most people you know more skilled at picking up on the positive things about people and
things–or do they seem more adept at picking up on the negative?
I wonder what the conversation was like in the everyday lives of the ten lepers who called out to Jesus. They have lived wretched and painful lives, where they have been isolated. There must have been so much to complain about. Supposing you knew that out of those ten lepers, there was one who used to say, “Perhaps God will one day heal us? Let’s keep our hopes up. Things are tough, but at least we have each other?” Which one do you suppose would be the one with the more positive outlook?
Remember Paul’s ancient advice to the church at Thessalonica:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (I Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Why is this the will of God for you and me? Because a grateful heart will maximize the positive things in our living and minimize the negative. It recognizes and prizes the gifts of God all around us. It is what God wants for us because it will open our lives.
4. Living with Gratitude Helps Us to See Life Differently
The one leper who was cured of his physical infirmity and turned back to say “Thank you,” began to turn his heart toward God the moment he realized he was cured. And he went home that day with much more than having some priest proclaim that he was clean. His gratitude brought a greater blessing to his life–he went home with a whole new life which was energized by faith.
A Hospice chaplain tells this story:
I will never forget a visit with a dying woman at the hospice unit where I served as an “on
call chaplain.” She was a young mother and it was difficult to see her, her two young
children and her husband going through the anguish of a life cut-off too soon. I received a
call that she wanted to talk with me late one Saturday evening. When I arrived, she said,
“Pastor, I am sorry to bother you so late. I know you have so much to do tomorrow.”
It hit me like a spiritual “ton of bricks”. So much to do??? My God–how fortunate could I
be?” This woman had very little left to do. Once again I encountered something I had
discovered in clinical training. Some of the greatest lessons I have ever learned have come
from dying people. This young mother wanted to talk about her life and her relationship
with God and I went to help her as God enabled me. But, I was the one who received the
blessing.
As the chaplain continues:
A part of our conversation went something like this:
“Do you have any sense of anger with God?” I asked.
“Oh, heavens no!,” she replied, “Not at all. I am sooo grateful!”
Quite honestly, I was taken aback. Inside I was thinking, “Grateful? How can you be
grateful?” Outwardly, I simply said, “Really?”
“Yes. We had such a hard time having children. I miscarried three times before our first
child was born. Then we were blessed with two. I had to have a hysterectomy after the
second, we were so lucky to have them. My husband has been great through all of this . .
. I think it’s harder for him. I’ve never wondered if he loved me. I’ve been so blessed in
such a short time and I think about all those people who never experience the love and the
family that I have. How could I not be grateful?”
She thanked me profusely before I left. And on the way home, I wept–partly for what I learned about gratitude from her. She died the next day–grateful!
It really is about how we see life . . . negative . . . complaining . . . how tough . . . unfair . . . that’s one day. The other way is gratitude. After all the blessings are all around us . . . let’s not miss them!
Carroll H. Page, Wednesday evening, July 28, 2010 Prayer Service
Author : admin | July 29, 2010
Category: Ministries |
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