“How Thankful Are You” is a question of how deep inside yourself does the thankfulness come from? Subconsciously, we all have several levels inside ourselves. Today, the play on words draw out those levels with the actions of a person. It is a hearing of their words, but seeing their actions are very different. A “you will know them by their fruits” Luke 7:20 is very true to this day. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” Luke 7:21 Saying and doing reveal the true thankfulness.
Thankfulness comes from an assessment. Assessment comes from making a judgment or a conclusion to something. You have valuated something deeming it a status of your choosing. This is where the “how deep” your thoughts and feelings about it is born. This determines how much you will wrap your mind, heart, and soul around it. “How Thankful Are You” is a choice only you can make. We see people every day showing their fruits in this category of thankful or unthankful.
All of us meaning all of mankind have different levels inside ourselves. There are many levels, but a basic of four umbrella type categories. We have a surface level like the old saying of “in one ear and out the other“, which basically I heard, but don’t care about it right now level. This would be equivalent to a seed landing on the hard road side shoulder surface.
Going below the surface, we have a “not sure level“. It was exciting to hear and sounded good, but a reluctance to fully research into it with the intensity of really knowing why it sounded good. We take it inside ourselves in a shallow place of acceptance without the deep rooted of why it made us so happy. It is less than half way deep into our lives. This would be like a seed making it past the surface of the road shoulder into the rocks at the edge of the roadway.
The third umbrella level category inside of us is the “uncommitted level“. We have taken something inside ourselves believing it is good for us, but the challenges of this life causes us to let go due to the pressures of the outside world choking the non commitment. This is the half way level down into ourselves of the almost keeping it for the rest of our lives. This is the seed that made it past the surface of the roadside, past the rocks, and over into the brush beside the highway.
The last umbrella type level category is the “I heard it“, “it sounds good“, “I want it“, and “I am going to keep it“. This particular thing got my complete attention. The connection linked to all the parts of my mind, heart, and soul. This is not a game. It is the real thing and I want it to never go away. This is the seed making it past the roadside shoulder surface, the rocks, the brush, and into the good soil level where water easily feeds the necessary nutrients a seed would need to grow into a very prosperous and fruitful seed of life.
The “How Thankful Are You” is in one of these levels. The way side surface, the shallow between rock surface, the mangled thicket brush area, or in the receptive, open, and willing to change good soil area. One level has a don’t care and no stick ability to it. The next level down has a happy to have it, but not really sure if it is necessary when challenged. The third level down has some meaning, but the pressure of other things in this world become distractive to what really matters. The deepest and final level inside locks onto it with a thankfulness and appreciation of never letting go it no matter what this world throws at us.
PRACTICE THANKFULNESS
The practice of “Thankfulness” comes from observance and remembrance. We all can remember times that things could have turned out for the worst. As an example, I was using a long screwdriver to loosen something with an upward pull on the object. The screwdriver slipped and I was pulling so hard that it came at me so fast the tip of the screwdriver hit me in the top of my left eyebrow. The thoughts of “Thankfulness” suddenly came flooding in of what if it hit me directly in the left eye? I would be blind today in the left eye because of the sheer force the tip of the screwdriver hit my eyebrow cutting a gap in the skin.
You can think many things that have happened to yourself that could have been worse, but they were not. Some were at the level of a non life threatening event and some were at the possible death threatening event. This is where the level of “Thankfulness” comes from. Your consideration of where your life would be if it were not for graceful moments of mercy intervening from the worse. There is always worse things and situations around you.
Have you ever allowed your mind to slow down looking through your eyes, hearing with your ears, tasting with your tongue, feeling with your hands, and breathing the air into your lungs along with feeling the beat of your heart? Why wait on something awful like a heart attack to do these things? Seeing someone who is blind not knowing the colors of the blue sky, pink flowers, and the softness of the morning or setting sun’s light. Hearing the sounds of birds singing, the gentle trickling sound of a creek, or the calming lapping sounds of the ocean waves that a deaf person could never enjoy. “How Thankful Are You“?
The physical list of things can go on and on from walking, running, swimming, etc. This is all one of the dual categories of ourselves we need to consider of being “Thankful” for. All of us have a physical side and spiritual side. You and I are made of our fleshly body with our spirit being the power of life inside our body. We can be thankful for the physical things, but what about the spiritual things? What level is your “Thankfulness” for your spirit healthiness?
SPIRITUAL HAPPINESS
Are you spiritually healthy and happy? We think of physical healthiness and happiness as the ability to use our bodies easily with daily tasks. What is spiritual healthiness and happiness? What is the spiritual side of us? It is basically the spiritual power of life circulating in the physical brain firing off collected organized thoughts, a force of a will being the heart of all actions, and the breathe power of eternal life from God making an individual and unique soul.
“How Thankful Are You” in your spirit? What you have in your spirit is what comes to the surface of your body and what is hidden in your spirit will be revealed in time. “Thankfulness” in your spirit is seeing the condition of yourself and others in the true light of truth adjusting for the better pathway to go.
If we see ourselves and others in truth then the doing better in life for ourselves and others will bring a wholeness and happiness we have not seen before. We think leaders are healthy and happy people to be where they are in life. Whether they are military commanders, presidents, preachers, teachers, and other leading type positions. No one is truly healthy or happy if they are imbalanced and the spirit of a person is the true core that happiness emulates from.
SEEING YOURSELF AND OTHERS
Here is one example of where Jesus visited a religious leader’s house for a meal and they received more than a physical feeding. While they were sitting down a woman of the city well known to be a sinner came in crying tears upon Jesus dust covered feet, wiping his feet clean with her hair, kissed his feet, and anointed his feet with ointment. Visualize and let that soak in and ask yourself, what level of “Thankfulness” do you think she was on? Was it the surface, the rocks, the brush, or the good soil? The first three levels have a weakness to them and what she did came from a strong place inside her.
The religious leader thought inside his spirit if Jesus, if he was a prophet he would know what manner of a woman this was touching him. What level is he on? Jesus was known for healing, forgiving, loving the rejected, and seeking to save those who are lost. She went straight to Jesus and not the religious leader. This could be a clue of what she was wanting from the depths of her heart. What level of “Thankfulness” did this religious leader have in his heart.? Was it the surface, the rocks, the brush, or the good soil?
Jesus wanted the religious leader, the woman, and all of us to see with perception and with the understanding the levels they both were on. Jesus laid out an example to reveal the levels of love and repentance, which brings happiness. Here is what Jesus said, there were two people who owed a debt to this one person. One person owed 500 and the other owed 50. Neither one had the money to pay their debt. The man forgave both of them their debts, the 500 and the 50. Imagine walking away right now and all you owe is completely gone free from any more monthly payments. Wow!
Jesus asked the religious leader a question, “…which of them will love him most? “Luke 7:42 What level of love and happiness do you think each one of these debtors were on? What level do you think the religious leader was speaking from when he answered Jesus? The religious leader said, “…I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.” The “…I suppose” suggests the religious leader was speaking from the level of the brush feeling the pressure of answering at the level his fellow religious leaders would want him to answer, but Jesus left him with only one simple conclusion.
here are the different levels between the woman and the religious leader. Jesus said, “…Simon, Seest thou this woman?” I came into your house you offered no water to wash my feet, but she washed my feet with her tears. The answer is yes. She dried my feet with her hair. The answer is yes. You gave me no tradition welcome to your home kiss. She continually kissed my feet. The answer is yes. You did not anoint my head with oil as your guest, but this woman anointed my feet. The answer is yes.
Here is the level this woman was on being revealed as a woman of many sins are forgiven because of the level of her love and repentance. It is clear from the strong level of the good soil that is workable she did these things and from the absent mindedness of wayside thoughts the religious leader did nothing. The depth of your love will equal the depth of your forgiveness. If you have a little depth of repentance then you will be forgiven little placing you in the three weakest levels.
Her spiritual level of believing in Jesus was so deep into her core that her actions revealed I am unworthy to be higher than your feet Jesus and the religious leader revealed his level of looking Jesus in the face with no regard of treating him as how a guest should treated. She had four yes’s and the religious leader had zero. Her four yes’s equaled forgiveness and his equaled zero with the potential of him seeing the light of truth about himself. You can read this whole event in Luke chapter seven verse thirty-six through verse fifty.
“How Thankful Are You” in your spirit? Have you approached Jesus with your spiritual life? The world cannot bring you the spiritual true happiness because temporary cannot satisfy eternal. Your spirit is eternal and needs eternal to make it truly happy. The earth can make your earthly body happy, but in the process make your spirit extremely sad. The body can gain the whole world, but lose your soul. It comes down to simply earth for earth and Spirit for spirit.
UNLOCKING SPIRITUAL HAPPINESS
Jesus is offering you a chance to see your spiritual level. If you have no level of relationship or if you have a religious level of relationship. Jesus can show you what level you are on and reveal how much closer to him you can become. Spiritual happiness can be balanced by the guidance of the Holy Spirit of all spirits through the Lord Jesus Christ just like the woman discovered her forgiveness by depths of her love, faith, and commitment mixed in her good soil.
Jesus gave to all who were on the zero wayside level the steps and path to begin their salvation relationship start for the good soil level. He told all of us through Peter to “…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.“ Acts 2:38
Repenting, like the woman starts the action of the spiritual “I’m sorry for my sins” with the physical obedience of being submerged completely in water baptism in the name of Jesus washing away all your sins and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost with the power of God speaking with your voice in another language praising God as a sign to you of receiving His Spirit. This fulfills the born again of water and of the Spirit John 3
Interesting Side Thought: the woman from a repentant heart wept tears like unto water, with her hair wiped away the dirt like unto wiping away sins, kissed and anointed his feet like unto the mouth speaking anointed words as God gives them. In Acts two verse thirty-eight it says, we are to repent, be baptized in water in Jesus name, wiping away all our sins, receiving the gift of the anointed Holy Ghost speaking with a language God gives us as a sign. A neat parallel from a person who really means business.
If you are at the level of Apollos Jesus has a deeper path for you to follow. Apollos only had the depth of John the Baptist teachings. He was a smart man and very strong in the scriptures knowing only the teachings of John the Baptist. Aquila and Priscilla had heard him speaking and they took him aside and told him the way of God more perfectly of Jesus name baptism and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Acts 18:24-28
Another group of people were found only knowing the Baptist doctrine of John and apostle Paul asked them about receiving the Holy Ghost and they had not heard about it. He asked, what were they baptized and they said unto John’s baptism. Paul explained that was a baptism unto repentance, which is not the washing away of sins in Jesus name, and that they should believe on him after John, Jesus Christ. When they heard this they went into a deeper level of truth being baptized in Jesus name and when apostle Paul laid his hands upon them praying the power of the Holy Ghost came upon them speaking the praises of God in a language they did not know as a sign of proof to them they had received God’s Holy Spirit. Acts 19:1-7
HOW THANKFUL ARE YOU
Surface, rocks, brush, and good soil are the levels our spirit will live this life through our bodies storing up the choices we have made to be brought back before us when we face God after this life. The level of “Thankfulness” will have the spiritual strength of the woman crying, using her hair as a towel, kissing Jesus feet, and anointing him with a praise and prayerful fellowship filled life or the empty religious leader going through the physical motions of an outward falseness of a happy life.
I am thankful to know and have followed God and the Bible into a more perfect balanced spiritual life than what I was trying to achieve through the world. I am thankful to God to have the physical ability to walk, talk, see, hear, and do daily tasks. We have a sad and dying world of people all around us physically and spiritually. We are far more blessed than we really realize and the slowing down to count our many blessings is the only way to answer the question “How Thankful Are You?“