Thank you for reading this.  Really, I am grateful.  I know, I know, most people will glance at the first  two words and keep skimming down through Facebook.  But not you; you are still reading.  Thanks.  I’ve been amazed (and also grateful) about how many different countries are represented among the people who read this.  Not all of you observe Thanksgiving, a time for reflecting on why we are thankful.  But when I’m thinking about that, one of the reasons I am thankful is you.

It’s curious to me how seldom we read in the Gospels about people thanking Jesus for healing them.  Of ten lepers He healed one time, only one returned to say thanks.  Another woman wept at His feet, expressing her thankfulness.  But of the 20 occurrences of the word, “thanks,” in the Gospels, almost all of them are of Jesus giving thanks to The Father.  Sometimes before the simplest of meals. Consider this:

“Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.” (John 6:23)

It must have been that Jesus’ thankfulness was so moving, that John couldn’t speak of the meal without also including that last phrase.  Perhaps, if we could see as clearly as Jesus, our thanks would be expressed in a much more frequent and heartfelt manner.

Quote: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.