I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving Day. Of all the American holidays, Thanksgiving is perhaps the most special and spiritual of our American holidays. It is a time that reminds us to be thankful. But did you know that having an attitude of gratitude is something that God commands? 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says: “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”Now whenever we begin to think that life is unfair we need to think again. Whatever our situation is, we must remember that things could always be worse and that there are always things for which we can give thanks if we just stop and think about it.We can thank God that we’re alive! We can thank God that He is good and that His loves endures forever. We can thank God that He is faithful to us even during the times when we aren’t noticing. How often do we experience ingratitude? The Thanksgiving meal is laid out in front of us and has all kinds of delicious choices, but then we notice that something is missing. What, no cranberries? No green bean casserole? No pumpkin pie? Rather than being thankful for what we have before us, we focus on what is missing.One of the few times we see Jesus was astonished by human nature is when there was an expression of both gratitude and ingratitude. Remember the time when Jesus healed the 10 lepers in Luke 17:11-19. Leprosy is a terrible disease, not only because of what it did physically, but also what it did socially – lepers were cast out of the community So to be healed from leprosy not only restored someone’s health, but also restored their relationships, and ultimately gave them back their normal life.So imagine how grateful those 10 lepers must have been after Jesus had healed them. Yet, after being healed, how many of them sought out Jesus to say thank you? Only one! Jesus said with astonishment to the one who returned to express his gratitude: “Were not ten healed? Where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:19).Unfortunately, the experience of Jesus is sadly true to life. How often have we forgotten to be thankful?Our expressions of gratitude reveals that we have not forgotten the kindnesses and good things done for us. For some reason it is so easy for us to ...
