"...not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy..." (Titus 3:5).
---
What did happen to the other nine who were healed?
Sometimes in life, we forget that we're merely a passenger in God's pimped out ride; the Holy Spirit is our driver. Sometimes in life, we forget that the praise and thanks that we get is only due God. Sometimes in life, we forget that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
Sometimes in life, we become a part of the crowd - one of the nine who did not return to Jesus, even just to say, "Thanks dude." That's why sometimes in life, we need a reminder that we know better than that.
Sunday's readings contain "The Parable of the Talents." The talents that we receive are like our lives. The distribution of the talents according to Matthew were 5, 2, and 1. I guess you can say it's how easy our lives are. The servant who was given 5 talents is responsible for a lot of stuff; a person with 5 talents will probably go through a lot more trials (blessings) than a person with 1. A person with 1 talent probably has it made; he's not responsible for much. But no matter how many or how few trial-blessings we're given, we've been commanded to "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28). That's the very first thing God said to man.
When the one leper came back to thank Jesus, he took the talent he had been given, made something more out of it (his thankfulness), and showed it to Jesus. The simplest way to double up on our talent-blessings is to give God thanks for each one of them.
Remember the Beatitudes. Jesus said, "Blessed are you WHEN they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven." Your blessing is twofold. The very moment WHEN you're put through a trial, you're immediately being blessed. AND your reward will also be great in heaven in the future. That's why in all circumstances, we really should give God thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
That's a lot of parallels I'm attempting to draw... I hope that made sense.
No comments:
Post a Comment