Gratitude

a fruit of faith

Scripture Reading: Luke 17:11-19

This account of the 10 lepers and the one who returned to give thanks is well-known and beloved by Bible students. There seems to be a connection between gratitude and faith. Giving thanks is more than good manners and politeness. It is that and it is a good habit to develop. But it is more. Gratitude is woven into the fabric of faith.

Paul, in his classic treatise on human devolution and decline through sin, begins by stating that the first step over the moral cliff of unbelief is not honoring God as God or giving thanks (Romans 1:21). It's all downhill from there. Not a gentle slide down a smooth slope either. It is a cascading tumble down a jagged, jarring, life-threatening cliffside. It hits bottom with “those who practice such things deserve to die.”

Ingratitude or being unthankful is more serious than a lack of good manners. It reveals deep-seated unbelief and rebellion against God that, if not checked by the power of the gospel, will bear fruits of ever-widening moral depravity.

To be clear, we aren’t saved by our gratitude. We are saved by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. But one of the first fruits of saving faith is thankfulness. When Jesus told the leper who gave thanks, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well,” the wellness of which he spoke was more than physical wellness. He had that. So did the other nine. What he received was more. He was healed of leprosy of the soul as well as the leprosy of the body. His faith saved him.

And the evidence of his faith, the first fruit of his faith was his gratitude.

When the Scriptures command us to “give thanks in every circumstance, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you,” it is saying more than be polite toward God. It is saying to exercise the kind of faith that will produce the fruit of gratitude.