The Road to Gratitude

Let me set the scene to this post, we were approaching the end of 2017. As a part of our small group fellowship (LifeGroup) in Church, we usually take time out to thank God, talk and discuss how our year has been personally and as a community of believers. We themed it “Thanksgiving evening“. In this post, I’d like to share with you what I shared and discussed that evening. Let’s look at a passage and draw out some insights on Gratitude… 

Passage: Luke 17:11–19

This passage shows us Jesus entering a village with 10 men having leprosy. Now, we have to pause and think about lepers for a moment, at that time, lepers were marginalized, rejected and thrown out of society. Yet these men cried out to Jesus to heal them of their condition. They cried out from afar to Jesus “Master have pity on us”. Jesus tells them to go to the Priest. Here’s my first learning, I like their response, all of them simply rise up and follow as Jesus said, a lesson for us all to act in Faith. When we get a Word, simply act, just like these 10 lepers. On their way… ALL of them get miraculously healed! At that moment, only one of them, a Samaritan turns back to Jesus. MSG version says – “turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough – and he was a Samaritan.”

I want us to draw our attention to this observation – out of the 10 of them, ALL of them get healed, ALL of them were on their way by Faith, yet only one turned around, to give God the Thanks and Glory! What’s more interesting, this man that turned around to Jesus is a Samaritan, again in context – Jews and Samaritans never got along at the time but that didn’t stop him from turning around to Jesus.

At times in our journey, we’re quick to act in Faith and yet we can be like the 9 lepers who just keep walking without turning back to the source! Further in verse 18, Jesus says “Has nobody returned to give Praise to God except this foreigner?” From this, I get that God is actually seeking people like this one leper, who take the time to turn back to Jesus and give the Praise that’s due.

Carrying this heart of Gratitude, a few reflections…

FOMO…

Heard of this word lately, ‘FOMO’? It expands to ‘Fear Of Missing Out’, it’s basically a feeling of anxiety, mental strain one gets because of missing out on an event you desperately want to be part of happening someplace else. With the rise in the plethora of online platforms available, this word has taken root in most young circles, some even call it a condition associated with most youngsters today. In my view, I think the root of this stems from a place of total lack of appreciation for what we have around in the present. And this just builds up over time. I had a chat the other day with my manager from work who is about 30 years elder to me, and he was expressing how youngsters are today, just not grateful for what they have at the moment, always thinking or focusing of something better they’re missing out on… and I think he’s right you know…

Stop. Take a step back…

Listen, I know how the system is today. School children trying to bust it out to get the best option for college while college students painstaking working towards getting a job or apply for higher studies. And lastly, at our workplace, we all know how fast and furious it can get, I understand. I just think we need to stop, pause and take a look above at how amazing God really is and then look around at all that we have. We all need to step back and have a look at this beautiful portrait called ‘life’. 1 Chronicles 16:34 says– “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever”. Take the time to look up, it’s where we can start to carry a heart filled with gratitude.

A Culture of Gratitude…

We really need to embrace a culture of Gratitude. What I mean is to go beyond and express this with the people around you. The ones who have shaped us and brought us to this very moment. We didn’t get to the place we are today all alone, right? There were people involved. When was the last time we thanked someone genuinely? Our parents, friends, peers, managers and so on… sit down with them and have a heart to heart conversation, a rare sight I bet! Let’s cultivate a culture of Gratitude, it brings about so much… The Apostle Paul constantly did this during his life & ministry, giving thanks to the churches he wrote to, a classic example is Ephesians 1:16-  I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers… Let’s be that channel and source to bring about this culture in our time.

I end with this…

The greatest act of Love ever shown on Earth is when God took it upon Himself to solve the sin problem, where He decided to send His own Son Jesus to die on a Cross for a sinner like you and me (John 3:16). If God didn’t do anything else, I think we need to come to a place with a hearts so filled with Worship and Gratitude just for that fact. I’m overwhelmed by that love! Amazing Love, Unending Grace!

In conclusion, let’s be that one leper that always takes time to turn back to our Heavenly Father! Let’s always remember that when we’re on this road, to turn back…

On this road, let’s carry a heart of Gratitude…Hope you’ve been blessed with this short read. Feel free to share this with friends and family.

God Bless!
– Sam D. Mathews