Is there anywhere in the Bible that relates a statistic on thankfulness? Yes, indeed there is! I hate to say it, but I believe that what we view presently as an unthankful, unholy society has been in existence since the time of Christ.
Check out Luke 17, beginning in verse 12. There were ten lepers who saw Jesus from a far off. When they called to Jesus, asking for His mercy, He told them to go show themselves to the priest, and as they went, their leprosy faded. One leper, a Samaritan, was so grateful that he returned to thank Jesus for healing him. The other nine lepers did not. If this is an overall view of society in general, then only one in ten (or one-tenth of people) realize Who Christ is and express gratitude for what He has done.
This story also relates the fact that those who you least expect to be thankful are probably the most thankful. There was no love lost between the Samaritans and Jews during Jesus’ time. However, the leper who was a Samaritan was the only one to return and thank Jesus for what He had done! The other nine who were cleansed from leprosy went their own way. Cleansed. Were they “well”?
The fact that the lepers left to show themselves to the priest did express a manner of faith. It was a “believing for” something, but they lacked a realization of Who Christ was. It was a self-centered kind of faith that lacked spiritual healing and wholeness.
A thankful heart, faith and wellness all are related in this story. The one leper who had faith was thankful, and he was made well. “Well” means “rightly” or “fully.” I believe that this leper who was thankful was completely healed and received Christ that very day. The other nine lepers were cleansed, but they were not made whole, at least not spiritually. They did not have grateful hearts, which reflected the fact that they were not completely whole in a spiritual sense.
Our praise and thanks to God is a direct reflection of the condition of our hearts. How can anything but a sense of love and reciprocation of that love grow out of the recognition of what God has done for us? We will experience wholeness on physical and spiritual levels when we realize that Jesus, as our High Priest is not only the One who is able to release us from our infirmities, but also declare us clean...righteous and blameless before Almighty God.
I pray to always be able to recognize what Christ is doing in my life and to respond with a heart of gratitude...
I pray to always be able to recognize what Christ is doing in my life and to respond with a heart of gratitude...
Be Blessed In Jesus' Name,
Angie
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