Luke 17:11-18 – Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him — and he was a Samaritan. 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?" (NIV)

When we are children, some of the first words that we are taught are "please" and "thank you", in some families even simplified as "ta-ta". Our children listen to our words and watch our actions, repeating what they see and hear as we adults interact with those around us.

Saying "thank you" is a kind gesture of appreciation for something done for us. When I was a child, I was prompted to say "thank you", and it was important to write thank-you notes, sharing what gifts or visits meant to me. Now with the ability to email and text, it is even easier to take a moment to say "thank you".

When I document minutes for meetings and then type and send those minutes out to members, the chairperson will send me a note of thanks for my efforts, each and every time I do this task. This is so encouraging! How good it feels to have someone show appreciation for our time and effort! But when we do something special for someone and they don't even acknowledge it, how disappointing and deflating it can be!

After Jesus responded with healing to the ten men who had the horrible leprosy disease, He expressed His surprise that only one out of the ten returned to thank Him for this healing. Jesus must have been disappointed that His efforts were not recognized and appreciated. How sad, maybe even upsetting this must have been for Jesus. This was a life-changing healing that was granted by Jesus. Once shunned and forced to live in isolation and poverty due to having this disease, they now had a chance to live, work, and socialize with friends and family. How much rejoicing this would bring, but only one returned to say "thank you" to Jesus.

God is constantly giving us gifts: life, health, strength, jobs, rain, sunshine, crops, food, and so on, as well as the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life in Christ. How discouraging it must be for God when people do not recognize and thank Him as the source of these benefits each day.

Do we remember to thank God, in our prayers, for the daily blessings in our lives?

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for loving us, blessing us, and supporting us in so many ways each day. Amen.

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About the author:

Sharon Nettle <sharonnettle7@gmail.com>
Keady, Ontario, Canada
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