Finding Gratitude

Let me share a few thoughts today on the topic of finding gratitude. It seems like Thanksgiving Day is a good time to do that. And at the same time, doesn’t it feel like Thanksgiving Day is a one-off event? We set aside one day as a holiday in order to give thanks. It may be easier to find gratitude on a day like Thanksgiving because we pause everything else on that day just for that specific purpose of giving thanks.

But what if there was a way we could make every day a Thanksgiving Day? I might get a little sick of turkey every day; and I am not sure the Detroit Lions could keep up with a schedule of playing a football game every day if every day was Thanksgiving. But of course, that’s not really what we mean by making every day a Thanksgiving Day. What we mean is this: what if there was a way we could find a space for expressing gratitude every day like we do on Thanksgiving? Let’s admit that at times our expressions of gratitude can be rather random and inconsistent when it comes to our day-to-day activities.

It isn’t as though we have random and inconsistent moments for which we could give thanks. There is always something for which to be grateful. The random and inconsistent part is our expression of gratitude. Consider this story from the gospel of Luke which illustrates exactly that very point.

Luke 17:11–19 (NIV)

Luke 17:11–19 NIV

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 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. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

As Jesus is making his way from one town to another, he comes along this settlement of lepers who live in isolation. The Old Testament law required that people who had certain diseases should not be in contact with the community. Leprosy is commonly mentioned in the Bible. Scholars think it is likely that it was sort of a category for a number of diseases that showed symptoms of skin rashes and sores. Since some diseases such as this were known to be contagious, those who suffered any kind of disease like this was branded as a leper and was made to leave.

lepers would group together in communities of outcasts

As a result, lepers would group together in communities of outcasts. It is this type of community we see in this story. Luke tells us there are ten men with leprosy who call out to Jesus from a distance. They knew that they were outcasts and that they were not allowed to be in close contact with other people. This is why they don’t come near. Rather, they call out from a distance.

the only way to remove the stigma of leprosy and be declared clean again was to have it affirmed by the priest

Jesus gives a simple instruction. Go see the priest. Again, a word of explanation. For those with leprosy who were considered unclean according to the Jewish law, the only way to remove that label—that stigma—and be declared clean again was to have it affirmed by the priest. This, again, was not all that uncommon. There were examples of people who had various skin diseases branded as leprosy which would eventually heal and clear up. So, the instruction of Jesus to go see the priest was something these men knew about. They knew what it meant.

healing took place somewhere after these men had spoken with Jesus

Luke tells us that they are healed as they go. I won’t speculate too much on how this took place. All that is significant in this story for us is that the actual healing took place somewhere after these men had spoken with Jesus. They had already left. That’s only an important detail for us because it means that it was a conscious decision for the one to turn around and go back to find Jesus again in order to express his gratitude.

The other thing this story illustrates is the affirmation Jesus gives to the one who returned. Maybe our inclination is to immediately look down on the other nine men for failing to do the right thing—that’s kind of what the story leads us to believe. But try for a moment to put yourself into their shoes.

Imagine that you were banished from everything that you know. Imagine that you were exiled from your family and friends. There are no cell phones. No instagram. No snapchat. You’re completely cut off from all contact with everything and everyone you have ever known. And you know that the only way to ever get that back is by one thing: you must be declared clean by the local priest. Once the priest does that, you are free to go and return to your old life. And this is exactly what Jesus told these men to go and do! Imagine it. Put yourself in their place. I don’t know about you, but I think I would be incredibly excited to go and see my family and hug my loved ones. In fact, I would probably be longing and dreaming for this one thing every single day and night of my exile. I can’t really blame these men for rushing with a one-track-mind to get to the priest and then to get back to all their dear loved ones. I admit that I probably would have done the exact same thing.

by returning to Jesus, one does the unexpected

The one who returns to Jesus, then, is not the one who behaves according to the expected normal pattern. By returning to Jesus, he does the unexpected. His behavior is unusual. And—technically—he’s breaking the rules. Step one before he is allowed to be near anyone else must be the declaration from the local priest that he is now clean. That’s the law. And remember, that’s also exactly what Jesus told these guys to go and do. It seems that the expected response from Jesus should have been some kind of rebuke. “I told you to go to the priest. Why aren’t you with the other nine?”

his gratitude to God is the first-and-foremost priority

But instead, Jesus does the unexpected in affirming the unexpected behavior of this one man, and calling out the other nine for not doing the same. There is something unique about the way in which this one Individual expresses gratitude that is worth our attention. His gratitude to God is the first-and-foremost priority. Expressing thanks and praise to Jesus comes as the very first activity for this guy. And I think in our own honest assessment of where we might fit in this story if it were us, we are faced with the confession that we do not embrace and express our gratitude to God like that. It’s much more likely that we would be like the other nine guys. It’s more probable that I would make a note to drop a thank-you card to Jesus in the mail sometime over the next few weeks. I would set myself a reminder to schedule a coffee with Jesus when it became convenient.

where can I find gratitude like that?

I think what we see in this leper who experiences healing and returns in thanksgiving to Jesus is an outward expression of praise to God which springs from a genuine and sincere heart of gratitude. The big question for us here today to consider is where we can all find gratitude like that. Where do we begin in our own lives and in our own faith to develop and embrace that kind of Christian gratitude? Maybe it will help if I reframe the question from a different point of view. And this is a question that I think some of you may have heard before; and it is a question that some of you already know the answer—in fact you have memorized the answer.

what is your only comfort in life and in death?

I am not my own. I belong to Jesus.

Here’s the question: what is your only comfort in life and in death? It’s the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism. It’s one of the teaching documents of the church that has been around for the past 500 years. For those of you who may have never heard of this before, the answer is this: my only comfort in life and in death is that I am not my own, but belong, body and soul, to my faithful savior Jesus Christ.

I am not my own. I belong to Jesus.

This is where true Christian gratitude begins. Many people live in denial of those two statements. What do you mean I am not my own? What do you mean that I belong to Jesus? Sure, I may be thankful that I can go to God in times when I need him. I may have gratitude for the times when God’s got my back. But for the most part, I live my own life the way that I want to. Nobody else owns me. My life belongs to me. I’m thankful for the times when God shows up, but it’s still my life. The part of the world that I live in is my little world. The possessions I have are all mine. The money I make is my money. Don’t tell me that I am not my own. Don’t tell me that everything I have and everything I am belongs to Jesus.

denying that I belong to Jesus leaves me short of true gratitude — just self-congratulatory entitlement

Denying that I belong to Jesus leaves me short of true gratitude. Because as long as I go through life trying to own it all myself, then any attempt at gratitude to God is reduced to self-congratulatory entitlement. I’m not praising God at all; I am praising myself. I am not worshipping God at all; I am just worshipping myself. My so-called thanksgiving is not about giving thanks at all—it’s not about giving at all; it’s only about taking, it’s only about what I have, what I own.

True Christian gratitude, then, is a thankfulness that fully embraces the truth that I am not my own and that I belong to Jesus. True Christian gratitude cannot happen when we live in denial of this. And true Christian gratitude cannot happen when we begrudgingly or half-heartedly accept this. True Christian gratitude only happens when we center our lives within the truth that I am not my own and that I belong to Jesus. I don’t just acknowledge this. I don’t just affirm this. I must do nothing less than make this the center my life.

Look at how this works. When I center my life on the truth that I am not my own and that I belong to Jesus, then I no longer insist on seeing all of my possessions as exclusively mine to own and control. Rather, I see material possessions as blessings of God. And I am a steward—a caretaker—of these blessings. None of this actually belongs exclusively to me. It all belongs to God because I belong to God. None of these possessions are my own because I am not my own.

gratitude is no longer just being thankful for all things — I am now thankful in all things gratitude becomes a way of living

When I embrace and center my life on all that this means—that I am not my own and I belong to Jesus, that all that I have is a gift of God—then I start to take a new perspective on thanksgiving. My entire life becomes a testimony of gratitude to God. Gratitude is no longer just being thankful for all things. I am now thankful in all things. Now gratitude becomes a way of living. This is a way of living that always acknowledges God first. This is a way of living that will continually center upon the lordship of Jesus first. And this is a way of living that genuinely experiences comfort in doing that. I take great joy in knowing that my life and everything in it is in the hands of God because it belongs to God. I find comfort and peace of mind in living gratefully every day as a steward and caretaker of all that God has given. I am thankful every single day that God has lovingly extended his grace in a way that bought my salvation. And what an incredible privilege it is to respond to this every single day with a life of continual gratitude in all things, in every circumstance.

Out of ten who were healed, one man threw aside all other priorities to seek out Jesus first. One man turned around and directed worship to Jesus as the very first response.

praise and thank Jesus today and every day because I am not my own — today and every day I belong to Jesus

There is only one who is ever worthy of our praise. Only God. Every day is a gift from God. And the way you and I open that gift is to live every day in grateful praise to Jesus. I praise and thank him today and every day because I am not my own. Today and every day I belong to Jesus.