13 February 2018

Luke 17
Psalm 11

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Luke 17:15-18

Our response to God’s work in our lives is an indicator of our faith. One would think that all the lepers who were healed would be grateful for their healing and come to thank Jesus. Self-righteously we would respond by thinking that we would act in the same way that the healed Samaritan did.

When we consider our salvation how thankful are we for what God has done in our lives. Our salvation is the greatest act of healing; as it is our souls that are healed forever. Our healing from the curse of sin through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross should lead us to give God all the honour, thanks, and praise every day of our lives. Our thankfulness also implies that our faith is strong – that we live with the assurance that our salvation is secure.

Our thankfulness should be evident in our prayers, the way we live each day; in the words we speak, the acts we do, and the time we spend in communion with the Lord. We should never take our salvation for granted and just move on and live like the rest of the world. Thankfulness takes the focus off ourselves and onto Jesus who died for us. Thankfulness moves us from being selfish to an appreciation for what God has done for us. Thankfulness changes our outlook from being woeful to rejoicing in the goodness of God. Thankfulness is doing what God’s Word tells us to do.

Thank you Jesus.