I admit it: I’m a stickler for old-fashioned manners. A pet peeve of mine is when somebody in front of you—at a store or restaurant or office building—doesn’t hold open the door. It takes only a few seconds, but that simple act sends ripples of goodwill out into the world. It’s also important to thank the person who does hold the door for you. Yes, it’s a little thing. But acknowledging the little things has a deeper meaning.
Most of us probably don’t say “thank you” to God enough either. Sure, when you’ve been praying hard for something big—a sick loved one, a needed job—you may drop to your knees in gratitude at God’s answer. But how about thanking him for that glorious sunset last night? Or the air that you breathe day in and day out? We take so much of God’s goodness for granted.
Take the biblical story of the 10 lepers in the Book of Luke. Jesus is traveling when the lepers call out to him to “have pity on us.” Jesus heals them. But only one of the 10 returns to thank him. “Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Jesus asks. He tells the leper: “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
What we learn here is that there is a difference between being healed physically and becoming spiritually whole. When you thank God and acknowledge your faith in him, that’s when your spirit is made whole; peace and salvation follow. The big things and the little things are all due to God’s mercy. So thank him today—and remember to hold the door.
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