do you give thanks?

"And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?

But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not.

So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'

Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.

And they lifted up their voices and said, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!'

So when He saw them, He said to them, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.'

And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

So Jesus answered and said, 'Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?'

And He said to him, 'Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.'"

Luke 17:7-19

Are we like the other nine who never came? God has definitely done much for you in your lives, some of you more than what He has done for me so far. Yet, do we just run off and take the encounter with Him like a one-off thing? I'm guilty of it. I'm not exactly thankful for much, though I don't like being unappreciated.

When I asked myself what do I give thanks for. I could only answer (rather lamely), family. Yes, they're important. Then what's next? Food? Money? Friends? Aren't we worldly and materialistic? Missing the entire point? How often do we actually give thanks for our salvation? It's priceless. More than anything else. And yet, we overlook it, without a single glance back.

I am the woman at the well, I am the harlot
I am the scattered seed that fell along the path
I am the son that ran away
And I am the bitter son that stayed

I am the angry man who came to stone the lover
I am the woman there ashamed before the crowd
I am the leper that gave thanks
And I am the nine that never came

You made the seed that made the tree
That made the cross that saved me
You gave me hope when there was none
You gave me only your Son

My God, my God why hast thou accepted me
When all my love was vinegar to a thirsty King?
My God, my God why hast thou accepted me
It's a mystery of mercy and the song, the song I sing