A thank-you for Jesus

By KATE BLAIN- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

You're visiting your aunt, and she gives you some candy. "Say `thank you,'" your mother tells you. You say it, but you feel embarrassed. How come you've always got to say "thank you," even when you don't feel like it?

Jesus loves you, but He'd probably agree with your Mom this time. He knew that any time you get something nice, thanking the giver should come first. In this week's Gospel (Mark 1:40-45), we hear about one of those times.

A sick man begged Jesus, "If you want to, you can heal me." Jesus felt sorry for him and said, "I do want to. You're healed." And the man was! Jesus asked him not to tell anyone about it, but the man couldn't help it -- he told everybody. Then Jesus got so famous He couldn't even go into a town without being mobbed.

If your aunt just gave you candy, you're probably not paying attention to her. You're too busy looking at the candy, unwrapping it and putting it in your mouth as quick as you can!

That's what happened with a lot of the sick people Jesus helped. They got so excited, they paid attention to how good their bodies felt -- but they forgot about Jesus, who made them feel that good!

When your mother reminds you to say "thank you," she wants you to remember it's not just the stuff you get that's important. It's also neat that your aunt thinks you're special, so she got something special for you!

The man in the Gospel story remembered that. He got so excited that Jesus helped him that he couldn't stop telling people about it. It was his way of saying, "Thank you, Jesus!"

Sometimes, people get embarrassed when you say "thank you." They'll say, "It's no big deal." Jesus told the man He healed not to make a big deal of it. But the man knew that everyone deserves to be thanked -- even if they don't think so! The man wanted everyone to hear him say, "Thank you!"