Gratitude, the response to God's grace

I would say that 9 out of 10 is an excellent record in almost any of life’s contests. Of course, it depends on the nature of the contest, does it not? What I had in mind when I made that comment was the account of the Ten Lepers in the book of Luke. You will remember the story of how one day as Jesus and his disciples were walking along they met a group of ten lepers who called out pathetically, “Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!” (7:15).
       “Go to the temple so the priests can examine you,” was Jesus’ response. So the ten headed immediately to Jerusalem. However, even before they could get there, they were amazed to see that their leprosy and all its disfiguration had vanished. Their skin was restored as fresh as that of a child. Overcome with joy, one of them rushed back to Jesus and threw himself at the Master’s feet out of gratitude for the miraculous cure.
   “But, there were ten of you, were there not?” questioned Jesus. “Where are the other nine? Is this one Samaritan the only leper who returned to give God the praise?” After an embarrassing pause, Jesus looked at the man and said, “Your faith has made you well!”
       What is it about this simple little story that has made it so well-known around the world for the past 2,000 years? I am sure it is the beautiful picture of this one leper who, out of profound gratitude for what had happened, rushed back to Jesus to show how grateful he was. Leprosy was a dreadful disease that made the person ceremonially unclean so that from that point on they could have no contact with society. The leper was completely ostracized from normal life. Gratitude is best defined as “an emotion we feel in response to receiving something good that is undeserved.”  It seems to me that gratitude is one of those traits that remind us that in spite of our fallen nature we are still made in the image of God. Our downside is so discouraging that there is a tendency to forget that bad as we are we are still the product of God’s creative heart. Gratitude runs contrary to our obsessive self-concern and reminds us that God isn’t through with us yet.
       But what should we say about the nine who did not come back? One might blame them for their ingratitude, but I would like to see it differently. What happened to them is that they missed out on the best moment of their life. They were the real losers. They were healed of their leprosy, but they missed out on the joy of being grateful. Once again, we can be our own worst enemies; self-concern robs us of all that God wants for us.
       As the definition above puts it, gratitude is a response, not some sort of moral achievement. It isn’t something we develop, but something we allow God to develop in us. It witnesses to a changing heart. Our role is to remove the narcissistic qualities that prevent us from being as grateful as we might be. So today I am grateful for life, each precious day, the assurance that, should this be the last, I will by the grace of God enter into an eternity that holds delights infinitely better than my best day here. It doesn’t get any better than that.