The Empty Seat

 “David’s place was empty.” - 1 Samuel 20:25

The holidays can be the best of times, but they also can be depressing. When loved ones pass away, it leaves us heartbroken and sad. The holidays are especially difficult for those who've just had loved ones pass away. Instead of seeing that familiar face at the dinner table, there is an empty seat. The seat was once occupied by one so dear, but now it is empty.

Trite sayings and recycled quotes do not help in such situations. The holidays are forever different when there is an empty seat. Over time, more seats are vacated. One day, the seat I occupy will be empty as well.

David's place was empty for a different reason. Out of concern for his own life, David was absent from the king's table. He and his friend, Jonathan (Saul's son), were testing the mental and emotional state of King Saul. David's absence was noticed by Saul. The king's response to David's absence was violent. When David learned this, he fled from Saul. David would never sit at the king's table again until he occupied the throne himself.

When our loved ones die in Jesus, it is tempting to think that the end has come. It has not. Even though that loved one will never sit at the family table again, the next time you see that person, he or she will be sitting at the King's table. What a joy to join them there!

It is healthy to contemplate the fact that one day my seat will be empty. So will yours. Are you sure where you will be when that day comes? Only through saving faith in Jesus do we have genuine assurance of a better place to go when death comes.

For those of you struggling during this holiday period, let me encourage you to lift up your eyes, for your redemption draweth nigh. There is a place where every seat will be occupied. There will be no empty seats at God's table. When all the saints are gathered home, the whole family of God will be together. Our reunions here on earth pale to compare with the reunion in glory. There will be no empty seats at the marriage supper of the Lamb!

The most important seat will be throne. God will occupy that seat. He is the only One worthy to sit there. Heaven will be filled with excitement. At the center of all the celebration will be God Himself. He will be praised and worshiped.

The empty seat is sad for us here on earth. Yet if that loved one died in Jesus, we know that one day we will feast with them at God's table. We won't worry about overeating or gaining calories. We will not part from that meeting. Instead, we will rejoice together, praising the One who graciously permits us to make our abode in His home forever.

I'm glad there will be no empty seats there!

Thanks Living

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

To many people in America, Thanksgiving holiday means three things: family, food and football. For the Christian, every day is Thanksgiving. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the Apostle Paul wrote, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Long before our government set aside the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving, the Bible encouraged believes to make gratitude part of daily living.

We need a time of thanksgiving, not just in November, but every day. We need to remind ourselves how blessed we really are. We tend to focus on the things we don't have rather than the things we do possess. We often complain about the things that don't seem right in our lives rather than giving thanks for the things that are good. If we did an honest assessment of our lives, we would come away from the experience convinced that we are blessed.

We tend to lose sight of the blessings we have because we are continually reaching for “better things.” As Americans, we are richer than a large percentage of people globally, but you'd never know it by how act. In third world countries, many go without food daily. We don't have that problem, do we? A visit to the ICU reminds us not to take our health for granted. When we visit a nursing home, we are reminded how challenging the end of life can be.

Notice in Paul's words to the Thessalonians that we are to give thanks, “In every thing.” We'd prefer for to be told to give things for some things or even most things. But all things? Let's be honest for a moment. There are some things we aren't grateful for. Did you ever give thanks for a migraine headache or a kidney stone? Most would not give thanks for a cancer diagnosis or gut-wrenching divorce proceedings.

Yet we are challenged to give thanks, “In every thing.” Our painful and perplexing circumstances must be understood as we examine them from a divine perspective. In Romans 8:28, Paul wrote, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Notice that “all things work together for good,” for those who love God. It doesn't say that all things are good, but that all things work together for good. Thus, we can thank God for all these things, seeing that He works them all together for good.

When you consider that you should be in hell, it tends to sharpen your focus. The late evangelist, Bill Stafford, once said, “Anything above hell is grace.” From that perspective, we can give thanks for all things that we experience in life, even the hardships. We are heaven-bound saints because of the grace of God. That is something to be thankful for, wouldn't you agree?

Rather than having Thanksgiving, there should be Thanks Living. Our lives should be marked by perpetual gratitude. If you have much to be thankful for, shouldn't your attitude, actions and conversations reflect this?

Live with gratitude. As one preacher once put it, “Only turkeys aren't grateful on Thanksgiving.”  

 

Be The One

 “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.” - Luke 17:15-16

Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one returned to give Him thanks. Why didn't the other nine return to give Him thanks? Were they too excited and forgot their manners? Or was it that only one leper recognized Jesus as the Son of God and returned to thank Him as an act of worship?

In the busyness of our days, it is easy to get distracted from fundamental and vital issues. We can easily forget our blessings and fail to render thanks for them. Sadly, some people don't recognize their blessings until those blessings are taken away.

Blessings are simply gifts bestowed upon us by our benevolent God. Out of love and kindness, the Lord has showered us with countless blessings. If we are honest, we'd have to admit that we are unworthy of these gifts. Yet He demonstrates His mercy and grace by providing these gifts to us daily. What an awesome God we serve!

You'd think that if He were so kind and gracious to us, the very least we could do is thank Him for His blessings. Yet we often fail at that. Certainly His blessings give us reason to give Him thanks, yet they should also lead us to worship the One who is loving and kind. His gifts reflect His generosity. His generosity to us should lead us to be generous to others ourselves. His grace should give us incentive to show grace to those around us.

We can look around and find so many examples of people who are like the nine lepers. Despite God's awesome blessings, they take them for granted, or even worse, act as if they are entitled to such blessings. Many are highly successful, yet act as if their knowledge and skills alone were the cause for their success. The nine lepers went away blessed, but untouched in their hearts. Americans certainly embody that lifestyle today.

If we claim to be followers of Jesus, we shouldn't be like the nine lepers. Instead, we need to be like the one who returned to thank and worship the Savior. Let us never get over what He has done for us.

In a world full of people who live like the nine lepers, I want to be like the one who returned to Jesus. Be the one who glorifies God regardless of the scorn of others. Be the one who thanks Him despite my own flesh and pride. Be the one who worships the One who cleansed me and changed me.

I owe everything to Him, what about you?

The Insult of Ingratitude

 “And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” - Luke 17:17

Jesus healed ten lepers, but nine did not return to thank Him for the incredible miracle. When we read this story, we are stirred with anger at the ingratitude shown by the lepers. Leprosy was a highly contagious and incurable disease of the day. Just the word, leprosy, brought fear to an uninfected population. For men to be cleansed of such a disease was an incredible, life-changing blessing. To fail to thank Jesus for this gift is an insult and disgrace.

Before we issue great condemnation towards these nine men, we must admit that we have been guilty of ingratitude ourselves. Every day, we are recipients of blessings, even miracles, but do we express gratitude for all of them? Do we thank the Lord for the boundless grace He shows toward us?

Surely, ingratitude is an insult towards the One who shows us mercy. We selfishly ask for more blessings --- and even expect them --- yet we often fail to thank Him for the blessings we've already received.

How would you feel if you continually helped someone, but never received a word of gratitude or thanks? What would you think of someone who selfishly welcomed every unmerited blessing, yet failed to recognize your generosity? You would consider such ingratitude to be an insult, wouldn't you?

Like it or not, we are more like the nine lepers than we'd like to admit. You awoke this morning. Did you thank God for that? You had a warm place to sleep overnight. Did you express thanks for that? You had food on your table again today. Was this a blessing you specifically thanked God for? You had a portion of good health. Did you praise the Lord for this? We could go on and on. God has been good to us. Did we recognize Him for this? Are we ashamed to give credit to the Lord publicly for all He does?

Many people only give thanks to the Lord on specified holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. But what about the other days of the year? Every day is a special day, a blessing from God.

It is assumed that the nine lepers went to the High Priest, as commanded, to be declared clean from leprosy. Yet only one returned to the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who preformed the miracle of cleansing. One man returned to give Him heartfelt gratitude for the life-altering cleansing he had received.

As believers in Christ, we have been cleansed from a much more deadly disease than leprosy. We have been cleansed from sin by the power of the blood. This miracle is the greatest of all miracles. Leonard Ravenhill once said that the greatest miracle of all is for God to take an unholy man out of an unholy world, make him holy, then place him back in the unholy world and enable him to live a holy life. That is something only God can do. May we never forget that. May we never cease praising Him for it.

Yes, ingratitude is an insult against the One who has showered us with bountiful blessings. Let us cease from such a sin in the future!