Luke 17:15-19

“Then Jesus asked, ’Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’” vss. 17-18

So why didn’t those nine cleansed lepers return and offer praise to God? No one knows…all we can do is speculate. All we do know is that Jesus found it very interesting that the one who did return was a foreigner, a much despised Samaritan. It seemed surprising to him, but maybe it shouldn’t have been. Somehow it’s always the most unlikely people who are the ones who are so overwhelmed by God’s goodness that they can’t hold back from giving thanks. It could be that they think they don’t deserve the received blessings. At any rate, it’s always a bit embarrassing when outsiders seem to have a deeper God consciousness than those who have hung around churches all their lives. And that’s what happens…again and again! Maybe we just take all our spiritual and material blessings for granted. We see that ungrateful nature popping up in our children and it drives us nuts. We have to threaten to get them to send a thank you note to grandma and grandpa. Maybe that’s it! Maybe being thankful is something we have to learn…especially when we have so much. And maybe gratefulness comes naturally to those who have little. Whatever the reasons, the truth is that we should all be falling all over ourselves giving praise and thanks to God for the wonder of life in this world.

Thought for the Day: How can I best show gratitude for all my blessings?