Thoughts on
Gratitude
by Griff Martin
November 21, 2017
One of my
favorite pastors says the only prayers she knows are ‘help me’ and ‘thank you.’
I think that is actually one more prayer than most of us use. We go to God when
we need something, but when it’s taken care of we forget the second part of
that prayer. This is not new, and has been going on for a long time. It happens
in Luke; Jesus is out preaching and healing. He comes across a village where 10
leprous men live and he goes to them, gives them instructions, and heals them.
One of them returns to say thank you – one. Now, I give the others a little
slack here, because what if they wanted to return to their wives to hug them,
hold their children they were apart from, or catch up with friends? But it
seems only one thinks to go back and offer some gratitude.
Traditionally, this
is the week we have chosen to be thankful; to stop and ponder how good our
lives are in spite of what everything around us tells us; to enjoy the gifts
that have been abundantly given to us; and to know that we truly are blessed
beyond measure. Most of us will do a
good job of this on Thanksgiving Day.
The question
then becomes, to whom are we
thankful? Because I think that is the bigger issue in the Luke story. You have
to believe that all the leprous men are grateful; their lives have been given
back to them. It can easily be argued that in some way, each man would be
grateful – even if the gratitude was shown in his praises as he ran home to the
family. It seems that maybe the real issue is that only one of them truly
understood who was responsible for this gift – that there was a giver behind
it, a giver who is bigger, more powerful, and more loving. I think the key is the phrase hidden among
the verses: “glorifying God.”
There is a lot
this year for which we can be thankful – just stop for a minute and think on
it. Most of us have family that has stood beside us this year. We have friends
that bless us in countless ways and have brought us life. We have a church
community where we belong. We have been invited to be part of the Gospel story
once again. We have all been able to laugh and cry this year. We have had
moments of pure bliss this year. If nothing else, you are alive. And in each of
our individual lives, there is so much to be grateful for. The key is knowing
the source of the blessing, and stopping to praise that source.
So on
Thanksgiving, know what you are grateful for – but don’t stop there or you will
be like the other nine, the ones who only pray ‘help me.’ Realize what you are
grateful for and realize who gave you those gifts. Then praise God. Praise God
for all God has done. Praise God for all God is going to do. Praise God for
your gratitude list. Praise God for just being God. Be the one this Thanksgiving who takes time
out of a beautiful and exciting day to go back to the source of your blessings
with praise, and break bread there.
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