Title Thanksgiving / Luke 17:11-19
“Thank you for the old but still comfortable beds.
I am grateful that the wind-free wall surrounds me in a cozy way, and there is a ceiling that gives me a sense of stability.
I appreciate having a chair to sit on, a desk to study at, and a handy ballpoint pen.
I am grateful that I have a book to read and the glasses that focus my eyes.
I also appreciate newspapers and magazines delivered to my doorstep so I can sit at home and watch.
Thank you for having a postman and a sanitation worker.
I appreciate that I can see the clear sky and green trees outside the window.
Thank you for having a watch."
Many people are surprised to hear this prayer.
First, it's amazing to have a grateful heart in an annoying world.
Second, it is surprising to find a thank-you note in a trivial matter.
We are often taught to "give thanks."
The Bible says that it is God's will for us in Christ Jesus to give thanks in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
In fact, we bring nothing into this world with us (1 Timothy 6:7).
What we have now is what we got after we were born.
What excuse do you need here?
It is something to be thankful for unconditionally.
Yet, when we look at ourselves, we are not very grateful.
I give thanks with my mouth, but not with my heart.
Logically thank you, but not emotionally.
Why can't I thank you?
Because the complaints are great.
In the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, the laborers who worked from early morning until evening were paid a denarius as promised by the owner of the house, but they were dissatisfied.
The dissatisfaction was that the wages of a denarius could not be appreciated.
They complained that their master's treatment was unfair because they were later hired and greedy for more than those who worked less than them.
The biggest reason we are not grateful today is because we think we have received fewer benefits than others.
A sense of harm arises here.
In fact, you think you are being harmed even though you have not been harmed.
Paul lived a life of gratitude.
Paul could be thankful even for being in prison.
Because his imprisonment made him bolder to preach the gospel of Christ, whether he defended him or opposed him (Philippians 1:12-18).
Paul did not live to put himself in a better position compared to others, but only so that Christ might be preached and Christ might be exalted.
Therefore, whatever the circumstances, if only Christ was preached, we could be thankful and rejoice.
Paul was not thankful for what he had or the circumstances he was in, but for fulfilling the office he was entrusted with.
See what Paul thought of himself
“As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet always making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing all” (2 Corinthians 6:10).
Paul was grateful and became an indispensable great apostle.
Gratitude enriches our lives, and gratitude makes our lives great.
On the other hand, without gratitude, even if you receive grace, your life will be ruined.
An Irish playwright named Oscar Wilde once portrayed allegorically how the kinds of people who had been favored by Jesus changed afterward when they didn't have gratitude.
Jesus met a drunkard. The young man almost became a delinquent.
Jesus asked why he was living such a life. The drunkard answered.
"When I was lame, you made me walk. But what do you mean by walking? I've been looking for a job, but I haven't been able to find one."
Then Jesus saw a prostitute being harassed by men.
"Why did you go back to this life?"
"You rescued me from being a prostitute and made me a new person, but what happiness is there to say that I quit my life as a prostitute? I couldn't live a more lonely life. So I started a prostitute again."
Then Jesus witnesses a delinquent beating his neighbor.
Jesus asked him.
"Honey, why are you living this life?"
The bad guy answered.
“I was the blind man who opened your eyes.”
But open your eyes and see what? Everything I see is nerve-wracking, annoying, and angry, and in the end I thought that my life was just to get my anger out and to bang."
In order for grace to be grace, there must be gratitude.
Let's thank you.
Then there is something we need to remember.
It is a fact that gratitude must be expressed.
Gratitude should be expressed, not kept in the heart.
Gratitude must be expressed in order to be appreciated.
As Jesus was walking, ten lepers saw him and stood at a distance and cried.
"Jesus Teacher, have mercy on us."
The word leper translated here does not necessarily refer only to leprosy. It is a generic term for intractable skin diseases.
They had to live in a place isolated by the law and could not get close to people.
Everyone!
What are their earnest wishes?
Would it cure leprosy?
Would you like to come into town and live with people?
Rather than being despised and rejected by people, would it be to be their neighbor and friend?
Would they do what they want to do?
Would you like to receive warm care from people?
Anyway, they turned to Jesus for help.
He said to Jesus, "Go and show yourselves to the priests."
At that time, the priest was a person who could examine the skin disease according to the law and determine whether it was sick or healed.
Jesus did not lay his hands on them, nor did he command them to be cleansed.
He just told the priests to go and show yourselves.
Nevertheless, the ten lepers went to the priests.
They believed and obeyed that Jesus would heal them.
They had confidence in Jesus.
They were healed on their way to the priests.
How thrilling and grateful are you?
Perhaps all ten people were grateful.
But nine of them went to the priests, showed them their bodies, were diagnosed as perfect, and continued their daily lives.
There was no reason to go to Jesus because he was already well.
To them, Jesus was nothing more than a healer of leprosy.
There was no reason to go to Jesus unless he got sick again.
But one of them was different.
He was a Samaritan.
When he realized that his body had been restored, he "glorified God with a loud voice."
He returned to Jesus before going to the priest.
He fell at Jesus' feet.
He fell on his face and worshiped Jesus.
And he thanked Jesus.
All ten, including this Samaritan, were cleansed.
What is the difference between this Samaritan and the other nine?
Nine did not know how to express their gratitude.
The Samaritan knew how to express his gratitude.
After all ten people were healed, why was there no gratitude in their hearts?
It was simply asking if I could express my gratitude or not.
However, this difference determines the success or failure of life.
Jesus said to the Samaritan, "Rise and go, for your faith has saved you."
Everyone!
has two meanings.
The first is that you are healthy.
This Samaritan must have lived a healthy life for the rest of his life.
It is impossible to say for sure because it is not recorded in the Bible, but it is clear that the remaining nine faced another difficulty due to their bad habits of life.
Second, we are saved from our sins.
This Samaritan was not only healed of physical ailments, but also spiritually saved.
He received forgiveness of sins and received eternal life as the gift.
By expressing gratitude, the Samaritan even received spiritual salvation.
True gratitude is the expression of gratitude in the heart.
Edward L. Kramer, who invented the Thank-u-Gram, is called "the world's most grateful person."
(He is president of the Stirling Manufacturing Company in St. Louis, Missouri)
In 1948 he asked his children (two sons and one daughter) to "find the good in three people every day."
And every evening I sat with the children and helped write a brief thank-you letter to them. He sent out all the postcards.
At first, the children complained. Because it was not easy to do this.
"I can't think of anyone to write to"
But it wasn't long before the children began to see the good in people.
This is how the thank you card started.
Kramer says.
do.
Don't let a single day go by without keeping that promise, and I assure you that your life will be enriched by that effort."
Today, it may be possible to use a thank-you e-mail or thank-you text message instead of a thank-you postcard.
Expressing gratitude changes lives.
How to write a thank you card?
(To the taxi driver) "Thank you very much for your kindness and consideration. You are the driver's honor."
(To the cashier) "You waited patiently for me today. Thanks to your kindness, I got what I wanted."
A grateful person succeeds in whatever he does.
Let's thank God and give thanks to our neighbors.
We express our gratitude, not just in our hearts.
The more you find gratitude, the more things to be grateful for.
I wish you to live a happy and successful life by regularly practicing expressing gratitude.