Okay, today’s issue is a follow-up on the Character First lesson on Gratefulness. The Scriptural reference for the lesson was in Luke 17:11-19. This story dealt with Jesus healing 10 Lepers. Specifically I’m addressing point #3: “God blesses everyone, but the grateful receive more.” We’ll look at why this is so, and how this principle can apply to our lives.
The Enigma of Blessings
God can be a confusing individual. By this, I mean that His rules just don’t make sense at times. Why would God choose to love the World? Why would He choose to bless us rather than destroy us when we are so deserving of death? When we consider the nature of God, it is so contrary to what we are and how we think that it can be extremely difficult for us to accept God’s blessings. However, this doesn’t affect God at all. He still saves, heals, delivers, and blesses us in spite of our continual inability to stack up to what is right. God does indeed cause it to rain on the just and the unjust, and for this we should be thankful!
Did you catch the fact that only 1 leper returned to thank Jesus? When he did this, he was doing more than giving a cursory thank-you to Jesus. Instead, he was offering his life to Christ. Because the leper identified with Jesus as his source, rather than a means to an end, Jesus essentially saved the man. He forgave him of his sins, thus the use of the word “sozo” that’s found so often in the New Testament. Not only was the leper physically healed, but his sins were forgiven as well. The other 9 simply had their physical needs met, but we are not told what happened to them after that. Perhaps they continued on with their newfound freedom and had a great life. Or, perhaps they repeated past mistakes and simply contracted leprosy again or some other communicable disease. We are not privy to this knowledge! What we do know it that the 1 leper who did return was given a special blessing that the other 9 did not receive: forgiveness of sin.
A Change of Life
What happened to that single leper was that his life was completely changed. He didn’t just have his disease handled, he was completely healed! How often does God meet our physical need, yet we remain ungrateful or ignorant of what He’s done for us? Think of the things that God has done for you. Think of all the times He’s made life or situations go easier for you than humanly possible. Think of the price that Jesus paid for you on the cross! It should quickly become apparent that God is much better at blessing us than we are at thanking Him. How unfortunate for us that we do not return to thank Him for His blessings, for out of that simple act of gratitude, God has the potential to work with much more.
It was the faith of the man that saved Him. He identified with Christ as his source, not just a fancy doctor that made him better. The same must happen with us. We must identify with Christ as our source if we are to truly accomplish all that He has for us to do. Too often we simply say a little prayer to thank God for all He’s done, but not much more than that. God wants our lives! He wants to glorify Himself through us! God wants to be so much more to us than a simple giver of gifts. God wants to be the center of our lives.
The Leper understood that it was Christ who healed him and had given him an unmerited gift. Because he recognized Jesus as his source rather that a simple miracle worker, he was able to return to Jesus and form an everlasting relationship with Him. God's desire is that we all have the gratefulness of the leper, and come to view Him as the source for all of our needs. Whenever we step into that realm of thinking, it changes who we are and how we do things. This is why it is so important for us to live not only a Godly life, but a grateful one as well!
The Enigma of Blessings
God can be a confusing individual. By this, I mean that His rules just don’t make sense at times. Why would God choose to love the World? Why would He choose to bless us rather than destroy us when we are so deserving of death? When we consider the nature of God, it is so contrary to what we are and how we think that it can be extremely difficult for us to accept God’s blessings. However, this doesn’t affect God at all. He still saves, heals, delivers, and blesses us in spite of our continual inability to stack up to what is right. God does indeed cause it to rain on the just and the unjust, and for this we should be thankful!
Did you catch the fact that only 1 leper returned to thank Jesus? When he did this, he was doing more than giving a cursory thank-you to Jesus. Instead, he was offering his life to Christ. Because the leper identified with Jesus as his source, rather than a means to an end, Jesus essentially saved the man. He forgave him of his sins, thus the use of the word “sozo” that’s found so often in the New Testament. Not only was the leper physically healed, but his sins were forgiven as well. The other 9 simply had their physical needs met, but we are not told what happened to them after that. Perhaps they continued on with their newfound freedom and had a great life. Or, perhaps they repeated past mistakes and simply contracted leprosy again or some other communicable disease. We are not privy to this knowledge! What we do know it that the 1 leper who did return was given a special blessing that the other 9 did not receive: forgiveness of sin.
A Change of Life
What happened to that single leper was that his life was completely changed. He didn’t just have his disease handled, he was completely healed! How often does God meet our physical need, yet we remain ungrateful or ignorant of what He’s done for us? Think of the things that God has done for you. Think of all the times He’s made life or situations go easier for you than humanly possible. Think of the price that Jesus paid for you on the cross! It should quickly become apparent that God is much better at blessing us than we are at thanking Him. How unfortunate for us that we do not return to thank Him for His blessings, for out of that simple act of gratitude, God has the potential to work with much more.
It was the faith of the man that saved Him. He identified with Christ as his source, not just a fancy doctor that made him better. The same must happen with us. We must identify with Christ as our source if we are to truly accomplish all that He has for us to do. Too often we simply say a little prayer to thank God for all He’s done, but not much more than that. God wants our lives! He wants to glorify Himself through us! God wants to be so much more to us than a simple giver of gifts. God wants to be the center of our lives.
The Leper understood that it was Christ who healed him and had given him an unmerited gift. Because he recognized Jesus as his source rather that a simple miracle worker, he was able to return to Jesus and form an everlasting relationship with Him. God's desire is that we all have the gratefulness of the leper, and come to view Him as the source for all of our needs. Whenever we step into that realm of thinking, it changes who we are and how we do things. This is why it is so important for us to live not only a Godly life, but a grateful one as well!
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