Thursday Open Heavens - Don’t Be An Ingrate

                                 

Memorise: We love him, because he first loved us. 1^st John 4:19

Read: Luke 17:11-19: And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. ¹² And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: ¹³ And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. ¹⁴ And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. ¹⁵ And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, ¹⁶ And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? ¹⁸ There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. ¹⁹ And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

The attitude of ungratefulness irritates God. Where I come from in the western part of Nigeria, our people would say, “Don’t follow-up your benevolent act so that you don’t give the impression that you want a ‘thank you’ or some ‘hero worship’.” This saying is very correct because only God deserves our worship. As a matter of fact, it is only God that is capable of constantly following up His benevolent act and that is why He said;

“…When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you….” Leviticus 23:10-11

Love is reciprocal. The question is how many people reciprocate the love being showered on them by fellow humans, not to talk of their attitude to God’s benevolent acts. The Psalmist saw the danger in the act of ingratitude and preached vehemently to his soul when he wrote:

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:” Psalm 103:1-2

The story in our Bible reading confirms that God expects us to appreciate Him sufficiently for His goodness. Our Lord Jesus Christ queried in Luke 17:17: “…. Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?”

He went further to bless and perfect the healing of the grateful Samaritan. It is unfortunate that many children of God are already so used to the miraculous act of God that they are no longer moved by these acts. New comers into the Church who still remember clearly what they have suffered by the hands of the devil and his cohorts give thanks to God for every miracle. Whereas, some people don’t give testimonies of how God healed them of headache because they don’t see it as a “big deal”. Such people have forgotten that the headache they consider as ordinary has claimed the lives of thousands. My prayer for someone using this devotional is that you will never be ungrateful again in Jesus’ name. When you continue in your sins after you have been cleansed of them or when you backslide, you are ungrateful to God who gave His Son as ransom for your sins and to Jesus Christ who paid the supreme price of laying down His life for you. When you don’t forgive your brother who offends you, you are ungrateful to God who pardoned your numerous sins.

Prayer Point: Father, forgive me of my sin of ingratitude. Holy Spirit, help me to be grateful to my Father in Heaven always in Jesus’ name.

Bible in one year: Romans 1-3, Psalms 1-2