OCTOBER 9, 2022
Nine were cured, and a tenth was healed, The last one came back and lifted his heart in praise and thanks.
He was a man of another country, not liked by the followers of Jesus, yet his heart was like the heart of Jesus, thankful and light.
The word ‘thanks’ can change an atmosphere. It is one of the most important words between people who are in ordinary and consistent relationships. With those we love, with those with whom we work, live, and with whom life is shared, it is a word that deepens the bond among us. It brings lightness among us.
The Christian heart is a grateful heart. We sometimes find people whose lives are very difficult and disabled on the outside but have a heart of thanks on the inside. They are the people who give thanks for what they have, rather than whine over what they have not!
The thanks of the Samaritan brought him into a sort of unity with Jesus and with the others who looked on him as a foreigner. Thanks can bring enemies together. When we give thanks for the same things, we shatter barriers.
The nine were cured, and probably did well for Jesus in their reports. But the tenth brought the new life of Jesus to others from a grateful heart.
Give thanks this day for the ordinary, for the people who are always there, for the goodness of God. Give thanks, and in giving thanks we will be more like Jesus, the one whose life and words thank God his Father.
Lord Jesus it is right to give you thanks and praise.
