70 getful and. ungrateful, and equally as tonished th a t th e strang er was neither. H ighest praises fell from His lips for th e faith of th e centurion and th e Syrophenician woman, and now for this Samaritan. . (Luke 18: 42) “A n d J e s u s sa id u n to liilii. R e ceiv e th y s ig h t; th y f a ith h a th sa v e d th e e .” He prayed as a leper and praised as a cleansed man, rejoicing in forgiven sins and new life. Contrast him as one of the ten bu t a few moments before, now a new man, a living testim ony of the matchless power of Jesus Christ. W hat a wonderful Savibur! W hat a wonder ful salvation! QUESTIONS ,(1 ) Did th e direction in which our L o rd walked definitely determ ine His purpose? (John 4:4 )' ' (2) Does G od 'hear the cry of those who call upon Him? (Psa. 145:18, 19) (3 ) Does God h ear the unspoken cry of th e afflicted? (Ex. 3 :7 ; 1 Sam. 9 :1 6 ) (4) Was Jesus always compassion a te of h eart? (Matt. 9 :36 ; 14:14 ) (5 ) W hat is evident when men lack compassion? (1 John 3:17) ( 6 ) Why did these men respond so rea d ily tp; the simple command? (Rom. 10 :1 7 ) (7 ) In w hat should men glory? (2 Cor. 10:17) ( 8 ) The catechism says th a t “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Is th at-y o u r chief end? The sin of in g ratitud e is th e most popular and prevalent sin in th e world. “Were th e re not ten cleansed? Where ¡are the nine?” Only one man of the number retu rn ed to DEVOTIONAL give th ank s and he COMMENT was a foreigner. Is Dr. F . W. F a rr. th is the usual pro portion? Are nine Anen ou t of ten ingrates? Ing ratitud e
T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S is more th a n indifference or discourtesy. It is a crime. I t paves the way to envy, hatred, malice and all uncharitableness, even to th e denial of P ete r and the treason, of Judas. Only twice is it recorded th a t Jesus was astonished, once a t th e faith and once at/ th e un belief of certain men. In th is question does he no t seem to show surprise as well as pain? Yet he knew w hat was in man and he knew the hum an heart. One of the b itterest drops in th e cup of suffering and sorrow th a t th e Savior had to drink, was the base ing ratitud e of those he came to help and bless and save. P erhaps ing ratitude is common be cause it is easy ..7 I t consists in doing nothing. A child can let th e fire go out. I t ' calls for constant effort to keep it burning. The words “ th a n k ” and “ th in k ” are etymologically the same. I t is the stupid thoughtlessness of life th a t makes it a tragedy. We h u rt one an other, not because we hate and want to h u rt, but because we do not think. It is possible th a t we really did appreciate some kindness shown, only we-did not say so. Our excuse adds to our con demnation. “ I did not th ink of it.” “Thanks be unto God for his unspeak able g ift.” “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.” “By him therefore let us offer th e sacrifice of praise to God con tinually, th a t is, the fru it of our lips, giving thank s to his name.” How can we generate and cultivate th e proper sp irit in which ing ratitude must be endured? In other words how can we be the children of the F ath e r who is kind to th e unth ank fu l and the evil? Luke 6:35. By living and labor ing on in saCrificial service, upheld by his indwelling Spirit, recognizing the power of the cross and reckoning our selves to have died w ith him upon the accursed tree. Rom. 6 : 6 . W hat is hard for us is easy for Him. The
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