Ministers Blogs
“Don’t forget to say “Thank You””
Categories: Christian PrinciplesHow many times do we tell our children to say, “Thank you?” For young parents with children, it may be a daily task, and the goal is to teach our children to show appreciation, respect, and gratitude for the things they receive. But how many times do we say, “Thank you?”
One man shares the story about a former teacher who taught him to appreciate the poet Tennyson. He decided to write her a little note of thanks. The following is the letter he received back from her:
Dear Wille,
I can’t tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my 80s, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, and lonely like the last leaf of Fall lingering behind. You might be interested to know that I taught school for 50 years, and yours is the only note of appreciation I have ever received. Today it is a cold, blue morning, and your note has cheered me as nothing has in years.
Ingratitude, if you and I can feel let down and left out with ingratitude of the people we serve and help. Can you imagine what the Lord feels like when we show Him little or no gratitude for what He has done for us?
In (Luke 17:11-19), Jesus healed ten people of leprosy. Out of the ten people who were healed only one person returned to thank Jesus. What did Jesus think about that? Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner” (Lk. 17:17, 18). With this comment, Jesus was expecting the other nine to also return and give Him thanks.
God expects us to be grateful and to express thanks to Him. The cross should compel us to give thanks to the Lord every single day of our lives for the great blessings that we received from the Lord.
This month as well as all the months of our lives let’s give thanks to the Lord and to one another for all our spiritual blessings that we have received.
By Mark T. Tonkery
