A Thankful Life

“And Jesus answering said, Were not the ten cleansed? but where are the nine?  Were there none found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger?  And he said unto him, Arise, and go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. “  Luke 17:17-19

    I am so very thankful for the good Christians here in Grove. There are many faithful, kind, giving, and encouraging servants who work diligently for the Lord here, and we are truly blessed. Showing gratitude is something we all want to do because we have so much for which to be thankful. In Luke 17:11-19, Jesus healed 10 lepers, and, upon that healing, they were sent to show themselves to the priest. Only one of the ten turned and showed gratitude. He just so happened to be a Samaritan. How can we show the same thankfulness of this Samaritan?

Thankful Children

    Children can show thankfulness for their parents by honoring them (Eph 6:1-3). When we recognize how much our parents give us, we have no excuse to not be grateful. Your parents are working hard to take care of you, not because they have to, but because they love you. 

Thankful Parents

    Parents can show thankfulness for children by bringing them up in the chastening and admonition of the Lord (Eph 6:4). If we are thankful for our children as gifts from God, we will do our best to raise them to be faithful followers of the One who created them.

Thankful Christians 

    Christians show thankfulness by our actions just like we show our faith by our works (James 2:18). Christians must be so grateful for salvation that they seek to do the work of the church. It might be a small menial task. It might be as simple as a card, filling a gift bag, or a phone call. Our gratitude is shown in our activity for the body. 

    The church of Christ shows thankfulness for salvation by trying to bring others to salvation (1 Cor 9:22). If we love the Lord, we will have a love for the lost. I am thankful for each of you brethren.  May we show the thankfulness of the one Samaritan because we too have been made whole because of Christ Jesus.

Samaritan

Grace and Peace, 

R.D. Beavers