Superkids, in the U.S., we celebrate a holiday called Thanksgiving. It’s one of my favorite times of year. Perhaps Thanksgiving is the inspiration for my Corner this month, or maybe it’s just something we all need to hear. Either way, no matter where you live, being thankful is an important part of our life with God and with others.
You may have heard the story of the 10 lepers who were healed and how when one came back to thank Jesus, he was made whole. You may already know what whole means, “nothing missing, nothing left out and nothing broken.”
The awesome thing is, as I was praying about my letter to you this month, God showed me something so cool about being thankful, I have to share it!
Luke 17:11-19, New Living Translation, says:
As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
It says the 10 lepers were a distance away from Jesus when they cried out to Him for help. Leprosy is contagious, so they couldn’t be near people. To obey Jesus and show themselves to the priests, they had to go in faith. They could be in trouble because the priests were the ones who could punish them or give them permission to come close to people. I’m sure when they were healed, they were so excited, they ran to see the loved ones they hadn’t been able to be near!
Many of us have heard about this guy (for fun let’s call him Joe) who gave thanks and was made whole, but there is more to it than saying, “Thank you.”
It says, he came back to Jesus! When Joe saw that he was healed, he was far off but he came all the way over to Jesus to get close to Him, shouting praises, excited about what Jesus had done for him. This is important. Many times people ask Jesus for help and He helps them. It’s easy to go your way or to say thank you in a quick moment, but taking the time to come close to Jesus, to worship Him and spend time with Him will do more than fix a problem, it will change your WHOLE life! Joe was not only healed, he was made WHOLE. That means that if he had lost his ear, fingers or some other body parts because of his disease, Jesus made his body whole and probably fixed all of his other problems too!
When we worship Jesus and spend time with Him, it’s like we look Him in the face. Just like it blessed Him when Joe did this, it blesses Him when we come close and really have a grateful heart. I’m sure that gratitude is nice coming from us, but what Jesus really likes is to be able to help our lives become whole, not just help us as we pass by. This kind of thankfulness doesn’t just happen, it takes our attention, thought and a decision that this is how we are going to respond to His goodness that comes to us.
Jesus is good to us in many ways. He blesses us through others every day! We all have people in our lives who love us and do good things for us. When someone does something good for you, thankfulness is the right heart to have, toward not only that person, but also toward Jesus. The funny thing is, when we practice gratitude with Jesus we become more grateful to others and when we are purposefully grateful to others, it is easier to be grateful to our Savior Jesus.
Superkid, whether it’s to Jesus, parents, family, friends or others, gratitude is more than words. It’s a heart attitude. It’s an attention thing. It’s something you do on purpose. The next time someone does something good for you, big or small, stop what you are doing, look them in the face and say, “Thank you. I am so grateful to you.”
Every day we have reason to stop and say thank You to our Best Friend, Jesus. Stop what you are doing and spend some time with Him, letting Him know you are thankful for your day and the good things Jesus and others did for you.
Thanks giving isn’t a once a year thing but an everyday lifestyle that brings life, health and peace. No matter where we live or what day it is, let’s be grateful. Grateful people are happy, blessed and successful people, and like Jesus said, faith people. Superkid, a grateful life is the best adventure you can have. It will bring you face to face with Jesus EVERY DAY! ♥