Let us come before him with thanksgiving. Psalm 95:2
He was dirty and unkempt. His tattered robe was nothing more than a rag, tied around his waist with a frayed piece of rope. If he had possessed any sandals, they were now long gone, leaving his feet calloused and black. His beard was long and matted and was a nest for insects. His face was thinly disguised behind a filthy rag, which tried in vain to hide the leprous sores that clung to his cheeks and nose. He hobbled along with his nine companions, all in a similar vein of filth and degradation. Reduced to begging for scraps that were thrown to them by those who could spare a little something, they stumbled down the path, declaring their diseased state as they went.
“Unclean” they called, and watched as people scattered before them, opening the gap so they may pass without contact. No one ever looked at them. It was assumed that even making eye contact would open the possibility of spreading the disease.
As the crowd parted, the leper noticed one man standing on the path in front of them. He wondered why this man did not scamper to one side, like the crowd had. Did he not know or understand the threat he carried in his disease? So, he called out to him, “Unclean!” and gestured with his hands for the man to move. But the man stood his ground, and looked directly at him, with compassion in his eyes. That stopped the leper in his tracks. The crowd was murmuring around the man, and a couple of men tugged on the man’s sleeve to pull him to one side. “Come Jesus”, said one of the men, “We must let these lepers pass.”
But Jesus stood still. Now, the leper called to him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
Jesus called back, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as he turned to follow these instructions, he felt a tingling in his skin and as he looked, the weeping sores on his arms disappeared. He glanced at his companions who were also examining their hands and faces. Where there had been ulcers and crusty wounds, there was now clear unblemished skin. Not one sign of leprosy remained among them all.
The healed man watched his companions run down the dusty track, leaping for joy, laughing and crying at the miracle of healing and all that it meant for them. Being accepted back into society and reunited with their family and friends, and being able to work and no longer beg for morsels or rely on the goodness of others.
He looked at Jesus, who had remained in the middle of the road, and walked towards him. When he drew near, he threw himself down onto the road, knelt at his feet in the dust and cried tears of thankfulness.
It’s so easy to take things for granted, and often we seem to have a feeling of entitlement. We expect and even demand that things go our way.
God invites us to give thanks for not only the BIG gifts that come our way, but the small ones too, and His reason behind that is because we all depend on Him in every detail and moment in life. Simply put: When we make gratitude, and express appreciation – God changes us, and because of that everything around us changes too.
What two things from the past week are you most thankful for?
Carole