Randy's Blog

I know there have been times in my life when it wasn't necessarily easy to follow Christ. As I struggled through, I sometimes had the feeling in me, "I sure hope God realizes all I'm doing for Him. I sure hope He's pleased." It was like God owed me something extra or I was taking for granted what He did. I've discovered this feeling inside me more often than I care to admit.

But then in the very next verses, 11-19, Jesus tells a seemingly unrelated story about healing ten lepers. They all called out to Jesus for mercy, they were all cleansed of their leprosy, but only one of them returned to offer thanks and praise to God through Jesus. It's easy for me to shake my head at the lack of gratitude in the other nine, but then my mind goes back to the previous verses.

Do I take God for granted all the time? Do I forget that even serving Him is a privilege and allows me to live a life of significance and purpose? Do I forget that I can never repay God for the salvation He has offered to me through Jesus Christ? All of this reminds me that I need to each day approach life with gratitude to God. Everything I have, including my very life and certainly my eternity, is a gift from Him. Serving Him by serving in His church, by loving my neighbor, by reaching out to those disconnected from God are just basic ways I can be obedient to Christ and do my duty. These aren't extra callings, or things I am doing as a favor for God. They're the minimum!

I know there's no way I can ever repay God for all He's done for me through Jesus Christ. And after reading this today, I'm hoping I never again get caught up thinking I'm doing more than my share, that I deserve extra praise. My obedience in serving and loving others is the least I can do...and I hope, by the grace of God, that I can do even more!