Thank You, Jesus!

by Stephen Rhoda

“Then Jesus answered, ‘Were not ten cleansed?  Where are the nine?’” -Luke 17:17

Are you guilty of the sin of “thenining”?  Before you consult your dictionary, let me admit that I made up the word.  The word “thenine” is a conjunction of “the nine,” a reference to the nine lepers who failed to give thanks to Christ for their healing by His hand.  So “thenining” is the sin of receiving the blessings of Christ without giving thanks.  The good thing is that it’s a sin from which we can readily repent and behavior that can be quickly corrected.  Healing from leprosy was a great gift, but it is also a blessing that pales in comparison to the blessing of salvation from sin.  How then can we fail to give thanks each day for what Christ has done for us, indeed, to live every moment in gratitude and devotion to Christ?  He has freed us from the wrath of God and brought us into an eternal kingdom of light and blessing.  If our lack of thanksgiving in prayer would not be the sure sign of our unbelief, then let us return to Christ regularly, if only with three words spoken from our hearts- “Thank you, Jesus!”