The One Who Thanks

by Nov 25, 2022Easy and Light

The One Who Thanks

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

Luke 17:15-16 (NKJV)

The woman and her young daughter in front of me at the checkout counter unloaded a shopping cart full of birthday party supplies onto the conveyor belt. “Are we missing anything?” the woman asked her daughter, crossing off items on a long list as her daughter pointed to them on the belt. “I know I’ll get home and realize I forgot something,” she said to me. “What about thank-you notes for your daughter to send her guests after the party,” I suggested, not seeing them in the mound of items piled on the belt. “Thank you notes?” the cashier said. “Nobody sends those anymore. I can’t remember the last time I sent—or received—a thank-you note.” “If anything, these people should be thanking us,” the woman said, pulling out her credit card. “Look at how much this is costing me, and that doesn’t include the price of the food we ordered and the bounce-house rental for the afternoon.” “You’ve got that right,” the person behind me said. “It all breaks even when your daughter attends a friend’s party though. You don’t have to send a note.”
Father God, help me be the one who comes back to thank You, again and again. Fill my heart with gratitude for You and all of Your children.

Apparently, even in Jesus’ day, some thought thank-you’s weren’t necessary. In Luke 17:11-19 Jesus tells the story of healing ten lepers.

“Jesus, Master, Have mercy on us!” (Luke 17:13) they cried out, begging for His awesome power to touch them, heal them, and transform their lives.

When they realized they were healed, nine of them continued on their way to get the “all clear” from the priest. Giving thanks and appreciation was clearly not on the lepers’ to-do list.

Only one of the ten took the time to let Jesus know how thankful he was for what Jesus did for him.
In today’s world, a heartfelt thank-you can seem unnecessary and outdated. But the highest priority of our daily to-do list should be this: “Thank You God. Thank you for Jesus and for all that He has done.”

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