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In art, sometimes the beauty of an object is highlighted by contrasting through color, light, or some other medium.  In language, the same is true.  The beauty of a concept can be seen more brightly through its contrast or its opposite. The beauty of thanksgiving can be seen by observing its contrast: ingratitude.
Where Are The Nine?  Luke 17:11-19.
Jesus heals ten lepers, one of whom is a Samaritan, and he is the only one who returns to thank the Lord for the physical healing.  Lepresy was a dreaded disease in Jesus’ day.  There was no cure for it.  It produced misery physically and socially.  A leper became a social outcast and was separated from the life of the community and religious activities.  Lepers had no hope.  The compassion of Jesus for these individuals led Him to heal them.  The healing was dramatic and it was discovered as they followed Jesus’ command to go and show themselves to the priest to confirm their physical well-being.  As they went, they were healed.  Only one returned to thank Jesus for the. miracle that would have radically changed each of their lives.  This prompted Jesus ask, “Where are the nine?”  The one who returned to Jesus was a Samaritan.  Jesus showed compassion to him without any prejudice.  Whenever the Samaritan returned to Jesus in gratitude, he received an even greater blessing.  Gratitude completed the circle of fellowship with the Lord.  The Lord said to him, “Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole.”  This statement meant more than the physical healing.  All ten had received the miracle of healing.  Only the Samaritan received spiritual healing and was made completely whole.  Ingratitude robs of fellowship with God and all the spiritual blessings that God has to offer.  The beauty of gratitude is that it brings us back to God who blessed us in the first place.  This completes the circle of fellowship with God whereby we can obtain even greater blessings.  Physical healing is a wonderful blessing, but, spiritual healing (forgiveness) is even more precious.
The Danger of Riches in Producing Ingratitude.  Mark 10:17-22.  
The rich man Jesus encountered in this narrative wanted to know what he had to do to obtain eternal life.  He desires to know how to pursue the ultimate quest of the human heart–everlasting life.  At first, Jesus directs him to the Law of Moses (the law he lived under at the time) and to keep covenant with God (obey the commandments in the law).  The man replied that he had done so from his youth up.  Jesus perceived the he lacked one thing.  He told him to, “go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (Mk. 10:21).  The man went away sorrowful, because he had great riches.  Jesus loved this man (Mk. 10:21), but, this man did not love the Lord back.  He failed to see that his riches were a blessing from God.  His ingratitude due to covetousness led him to reject the love of Jesus and the gift of everlasting life.  Covetousness is linked to lovelessness.  Lack of love for the Lord fails to complete the circle of fellowship with the Lord that leads to everlasting life.  The beauty of gratitude is that it is an act of love that binds us to the Lord so that we can have everlasting life with the Lord.
Ugly Bed-Fellows.  II Tim. 3:2.
The word “unthankful” is found twice in the KJV:  Luke 6:35 and II Tim. 3:2.  In II Tim. 3:2, the word “unthankful” is associated with eighteen other sins.  These sins would characterize the “last days” or the Christian Age.  Ingratitude is a sin that keeps company with many other ugly traits: lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, and lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Ingratitude corrupts the heart and turns it against God.  The beauty of gratitude is that it comes from a pure heart out of which God is praised.  “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Col. 3:17).  God blesses us and, then, we bless God.  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16).  God blesses us, and, then, we bless God.  The cycle is repeated over and over again.  Gratitude is a key aspect of faithfulness to God!
Despising The Goodness of God.  Luke 6:35 and Rom. 2:4.
In Luke 6:35, ingratitude is associated with evil. God is good.  He does good even to the unthankful and evil person.  They are the recipients of temporal blessings (rain and sunshine–Mt. 5:45).  In Rom. 2:4, Paul exposes the link between ingratitude and impenitence.  “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing the the goodness of God leadest thee to repentance?”  Those who despise the riches of God’s goodness will not repent.  “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom. 2:5).  Despising the goodness of God reveals an even bigger heart problem–rebellion against God.  Gratitude brings us closer to God where we are drawn by the goodness of God to change our lives to live in conformity with God’s will.  The beauty of gratitude is that it is the pathway to oneness with God!
The Dark Path.  Rom. 1:21.
The dark path is marked by ingratitude.  “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.  And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things” (Rom. 1:21-23).  Ingratitude led to idolatry and the dark path that is associated with it.  Idolatry involves both moral and religious corruption.  The beauty of gratitude is that it marks the path of righteousness that both pursues and preserves relationship with God.
The Beauty of Thanksgiving.
The beauty of thanksgiving is seen in that it: completes the circle of fellowship with God which ushers in even greater blessings from God; it is an act of love that binds us to the Lord and makes everlasting life possible; it is associated with worship of God and keeps us faithful to God; it recognizes God’s goodness which compels us to change our lives and live in oneness with God, and it marks the pathway of righteousness that both pursues and preserves relationship with God.

Thanksgiving is a present state that draws upon past events.  In remembering past acts of God, Christians pledge to be faithful partners with God in the covenantal relationship in the present. Faithfulness to God (keeping covenant with God) is tied to thanksgiving. Thanksgiving grows out of a consideration of how God’s grace has impacted our lives and transformed them.  God’s grace is a continual flow of His goodness toward His people.  Thanksgiving is also continuous from our hearts to God.  Thanksgiving is a response of the human heart to God’s infinite goodness.
The Past–Our Redemption
First, consider God’s part in our redemption.  “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight” (Col. 1:21-22). We were at one time alienated from God due to our sins.  Yet, now, He hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ.  The past regarding our redemption involves everything that God has done to save us.  Before the world began, God purposed our salvation by Jesus Christ and in one body (Eph. 2:16; 3:10-11).  The eternal purpose of God was foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament who gave us over 300 Messianic prophecies that were to be fulfilled in the details of the life and death of Jesus.  Jesus came into the world as the result of a miraculous conception which led to His birth in Bethlehem of Judea.  Jesus’ personal and public ministry began when He was of the age of thirty and was inaugurated by His baptism in the Jordan River by John the baptist.  He taught as no one had ever taught before.  He performed innumerable miracles.  He exemplified the perfect human life. He was crucified, buried and rose again the third day.  On the cross, He shed His blood for the atonement of the sins of human beings.  God loved us and gave us the best of heaven (John 3:16).  God’s grace was manifested in an unspeakable gift (II Cor. 9:15).  His love, mercy and grace made our redemption possible.
Second, consider our faith and obedience to His commands.  When we obey the gospel (Rom. 10:16; II Thess. 1:7-9; Heb. 5:8-9), we are changed.  We are saved.  When we obey the command to repent, we change our hearts and turn away from sin to God.  When we are baptized (immersed in water) into Christ, we are forgiven of our sins by the precious blood of Christ (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38-41; Gal. 3:26-29).  When we obey the gospel, Jesus adds us to His church and we become children of God.  We are reconciled to God.  We are blessed by appropriating God’s grace and standing in His grace.  We must never forget the day of our salvation.  We must never forget the spiritual blessings that have continued to flow to us since that sacred moment.  This reflection upon past events, God’ saving acts and our obedience to the gospel, produces a life of thanksgiving.
The Present–Our Lives in Christ
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Col 2:6-7).  Your past is affecting your present.  Your past redemption affects your present state of thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is not something we do once in a while.  It is a fundamental way of being.  It is a state of being and not just an isolated act accomplished once a year or even several times in a year.  We must abound in thanksgiving as part of “walking in him.”  God has given us an abundance of blessings: abundant hope (Rom. 15:13); abundant comfort (II Cor. 1:5); abundant grace (II Cor. 4:15); and abundant love (Phil. 1:9; I Thess. 3:13; Rom. 5:8-9).  Generous abundance of these spiritual blessings from God produces a heart continually overflowing with thanksgiving.  To live in Him, i.e. Jesus Christ, is to live in holiness.  We are called to holiness through the gospel (I Thess. 4:7) and we imitate God who is holy (Eph. 5:1; I Pet. 1:15-16).  Holiness is tied to thanksgiving.  To live life in the Lord, we must live a life worthy of the calling given to us by Jesus.  We must be worthy of His name by which we are called (Christians).  We must live a life that pleases Him in all things. This involves:  bearing fruit, growing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened, and giving thanks.  To “walk in him” is to “live a life of fullness of consecration to God.” Being (who we are) precedes doing (acts of obedience or faithfulness (keeping covenant).  Our entire life is characterized by oneness with Jesus Christ.  Christianity is something you are and not merely something you do from time to time.  Thanksgiving is an integral part of the Christian life.  Our connection to the past (God’s saving acts and our obedience to the gospel) produces a life of thanksgiving.  The infinite supply of God’s grace to us motivates a continuous flow of gratitude to Him.  Therefore, we live in holiness and overflow with thanksgiving.  Sin against God is the height of ingratitude.  Sin against God makes a mockery of our redemption.  Sin against God involves a breach in the sacred memory of God’s saving acts.  In redemption, we are transformed to live lives that honor and glorify God.  The present life we live in Christ has been made possible by past acts of God whereby we appropriate His grace to ourselves when we obey His commandments.  This past event connects to our present in holiness and thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not something we do once in a while, it is a way of life. It is a state of being that results from being blessed by God’s infinite goodness.

Consider some thoughts from II Cor. 9:11-15.  Paul focuses on the contribution that he has been collecting for the poor saints and others in Judea.  He mentions four key concepts:  grace, gratitude, generosity and glorification of God.  As he develops each of these concepts, he defines a grateful heart.
A Grateful Heart is God-Centered
A grateful heart recognizes God as the ultimate source of every good and every perfect gift (James 1:17).  A grateful heart readily admits dependence upon God.  Ingratitude insists upon self-sufficiency rather than God-sufficiency.  God enriches us with a bounty of blessings.  His infinite goodness is freely manifested in the wonderful riches that He gives to us.  This includes both physical and spiritual blessings.  The chief gift that God gives is His Son (II Cor. 9:15).  Ingratitude breeds independence from God rather than dependence on God. Simply put, the ungrateful do not see their need of God.  However, they could not live even a single day without God.  Ingratitude shows a heart that has forgotten God.  This was the very thing that Moses warned Israel about in Deut. 8:6-20.
A Grateful Heart Is a Humble Heart
Those who despise God’s goodness manifest impenitence (Rom. 2:4-6).  Unbelief produces impenitence.  Impenitence is due to man’s pride.  Unbelief, impenitence and pride produce ingratitude.  Gratitude shows humility.  Humility leads to a recognition of the need for God and the redemption that He supplies through Jesus Christ.  Godly sorrow precedes repentance (II Cor. 7:10).  Repentance precedes reconciliation to God.  Through reconciliation to God we can stand in His divine favor (grace).
A Grateful Heart is a Devoted Heart
Thanksgiving to God is manifested in praise and prayer.  Praise and prayer are integral elements of our worship of God.  In praise and prayer, God is glorified.  Worship is an act of gratitude to God.  The ungrateful do not draw nigh to God.  They fail to see any connection between who they are and what they have acquired and God.
A Grateful Heart is a Generous Heart
Paul writes concerning “this ministration” i.e. the work of gathering a contribution to help the poor saints and others in Judea.  The church became a channel of blessing to others.  The generosity of the churches resulted in many thank to God and God was glorified.  Ingratitude robs God of the glory due His name.  Ingratitude leads to selfishness and others suffer because of the failure to show a generous spirit.
A Grateful Heart is a Compassionate Heart
A grateful heart is a warm heart.  A grateful heart is full of compassion.  A compassionate heart can be moved by the needs of others.  Ingratitude produces cold heartedness.   Remember Scrouge?  Scrouge was miserly, stingy, cold hearted and lonely.  His greed isolated him from others and produced a darkness in his soul.
The Greatest Gift
The greatest gift deserves the greatest thanks.  God gave His Son.  Jesus gave His life for us.  This spiritual windfall leaves us speechless.  “But thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.”  Through God’s grace we are enriched unto all bountifulness.  God’s grace produces a grateful heart.  This is the heart of a Christian!

David expresses a beautiful prayer in I Chronicles 29:10-19.  He makes this prayer prior to leaving the kingdom to his son, Solomon.  He glorifies God and credits Him as the source and owner of all things.  He gives thanks to the Almighty.  He prays that the spirit of joy that existed in Israel at that time would always be present.  And, he prays for Solomon.  Solomon is young and  inexperienced.  David has given him an important task: to rule over Israel and to build the temple.  David prays that Solomon will walk in the ways of the LORD.  The prayer begins with these words, “Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.  Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory,  and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.  Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.  Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.”  In all humility, we say, AMEN!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).  The apostle Paul uses two different words for blessed in this passage.  The first word, blessed, comes from the Greek word, eulogetos, which is used of God only and means blessed or praise.  This is the expression of praise from the human heart that has been touched by God’s infinite goodness.  The second word, blessed, is from the Greek word, eulogia, meaning a benefit bestowed.  Paul has in mind all of the spiritual blessings that are in Christ. Our praise for God arises in answer to the spiritual blessings received from God.
Spiritual Blessings.
1.  All spiritual blessings are in heavenly places in Christ.  All means “without exception” or “every single one.”  Consequently, there are no spiritual blessings “outside” of Christ.  We experience temporal blessings outside of Christ.  The sunshine and the rain fall on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45).  However, we do not experience spiritual blessings outside of Christ.
2.  Who is “outside” of Christ and who is “in Christ?”  These questions are important.  Paul gives the answer in Eph. 2:12-13; 4:17-20 and Gal. 3:26-29 and Eph. 4:5).  To be “outside” of Christ is to be dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1); to walk according the course of this world in the lusts of the flesh (Eph. 2:2-3); to be children of disobedience to God; and to by custom and practice be the children of wrath.  Paul also describes those who are “outside” of Christ as hopeless and godless (without God in the world).  In contrast to this state, Paul describes those who are “in Christ.”  Those in Christ are children of God through faith and baptism into Christ.  They are in spiritual union with Christ and have been redeemed by His blood.  They walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.  They pursue righteousness and godliness.
3.  What are Some of these Spiritual blessings?
-Election, Eph. 1:5.  The people of God are the elect of God.  They are chosen by God “in Christ.”
-Forgiveness, Eph. 1:7.  The people of God have their sins washed away by the power of the blood of Christ.
-Redemption, Eph. 1:7.  The people of God belong to God by the atoning power of the blood of Christ.  They are blood-bought.
-Inheritance, heaven, Eph. 1:11, 18 and I Pet. 1:4.  The people of God are heaven-bound.
-Truth, Eph. 1:9, 13.  The people of God have the precious truth revealed from God.
-Sealed with the Holy Spirit, Eph. 1:13.  The people of God are authenticated and secured by the Holy Spirit.
-Wisdom, Eph. 1:17, The people of God have the disposition of wisdom from God.
-Hope, Eph. 1:18, The people of God are full of hope in contast to those “outside” of Christ who are hopeless.
-Power, Eph. 1:19, 3:20,  The people of God have the mighty power of God working in them.
-Spiritual Life, Eph. 2:1, The people of God are experiencing new, spiritual, life in Christ.
-God’s love, Eph. 2:4,  The people of God experience the great love of God.
-God’s mercy, Eph. 2:4,  The people of God are recipients of God’s mercy (pity, compassion).
-God’s grace, Eph. 2:5, 8-9, The people of God are saved by God’s grace.
-Peace, Eph. 2:14-15, The people of God have the peace that passeth understanding.
-Reconciliation, Eph. 2:16, The people of God are one with God.
-Access to the Father, Eph. 2:18, The people of God have access to the Father through Jesus Christ.
-New Identity, Eph. 2:19, The people of God are the saints (holy ones) of God.
-New Sense of Belonging, Eph. 2:19, The people of God are the household of God.  They are in God’s family.
-Indwelling of God Through the Spirit, Eph. 2:22, The people of God have the spiritual presence of God in their lives.
This list is not exhaustive, but it is representative of the great blessings that are “in Christ.”
4.  Heavenly Places.  The heavenly places are “the heavenlies.”  The center of God’s saving activities–spiritual realms–where God and Christ are functioning and where the Christian has his/her citizenship.  Phil. 3:20.
God is to be praised for all of the spiritual blessings He has bestowed upon His children.  These blessings are only “in Christ.”  They are available to all who seek God and desire to know Him.  But, they belong to the redeemed.  Yes, Christians are truly blessed.

A key concept related to thanksgiving is reciprocity.  Here are some important elements involved in thanksgiving.
The Benefactor.  The One who is the ultimate source of every good gift and every perfect gift is God!  “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).  “Father of lights” refers to God as the creator of the greater and lesser lights in the heavens.  God is the creator of all things.  He has the power to bless and the will to bless.
The Gifts.  God gives us our daily bread (Matt. 6:11).  He gives His Son to die for the sins of mankind (the unspeakable gift-II Cor. 9:15).  He gives everlasting life (John 3:16; Matt. 19:29).  He gives love, mercy, and grace (Eph. 2:4-9).  He gives us truth (Eph. 1:9). He gives all spiritual blessings in Christ (Eph. 1:3).  He gives us everything needful to sustain us in this life and in the world to come.
The Blessed.  God acts for the highest good of His special creation–man.  He sends the sunshine and the rain on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45).  In a sense, God blesses each person on the earth.  However, in a special sense and in a special way, God blesses His own children.  The people of God are His speical creation (Eph. 2:10).  God bestows the greatest spiritual blessings upon those who are “in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).
The Thankful.  The “thankful” are a special class of people who recognize God’s goodness toward them and reciprocate with gratitude.  The truly blessed give back something to God.  The nature of the gifts they give are different from God’s gifts to them.  But, they give:  (1) their love; (2) their devotion or worship including praise and adoration; (3) their lives in covenant relationship with Him; (4) their service (the labor of their hands including benevolent acts to others; and (5) their loyalty (faithfulness over time).  The thankful have humble hearts that have been touched by God’s grace.  They reciprocate out of sense of being debtors to God for all He has done for them.  Through gratitude they complete the circle of fellowship with God.  The truly thankful are Christians who reciprocate gratitude for God’s grace!

Thanksgiving is the expression of the human heart in praise and prayer of the sacred memory of the gracious acts of God which benefit our lives every day.  In Psalm 9, David manifests thanksgiving in praise and prayer.  Praise and prayer are aspects of worship.  Worship is devotion or homage paid to deity.  David renders unto God what is rightly due His holy name.

Thanksgiving and Praise.
Praise is adoration of the name of God for His glory, holiness and majesty.  God acts in creation and redemption to benefit all of mankind.  David makes a holy resolution in response to all that God has done, “I will praise thee.”  Consider some aspects of this praise:
1.  It is personal.  “I.”  David engages his own heart, mind and will to glorify God.  He has been touched by God’s mercies and graciousness.  He renders the praise as thanksgiving.
2.  It is reflective.  David spends time thinking about God and what He has done.  We must count our many blessings and name them one by one.  We are ‘vessels of mercy’.  Just as a ordinary vessel by its scent tells what liquid is in it, so should our lips smell of the fragrance of God’s mercy shed abroad in our hearts.  Thanksgiving is reflective of God’s mercies and help.
3.  It is purposed.  “I will.”   It sometimes takes all of our determination to bless God in the midst of adversity.  Job’s wife told him to curse God and die.  Job said, “The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed by the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21 and 2:9).
4.  It is focused.  “I will praise thee.”  God is the ultimate source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).  God is an inexhaustible fountain of blessings that enriches our lives.  You cannot separate thanksgiving from God.
5.  It is declared.  “I will show forth.”  The psalmist openly declares his praise for God’s goodness.  He tells saint and sinner.  His praise is a thankful telling forth of all God has done for him.
6.  It is unfeigned.  “With my whole heart.”  There is no pretense.  There is no lip service.  His praise is whole-hearted and sincere.  This distinguishes him from the hypocrites who pay lip service but their hearts are far from God (Matt. 15:8).
7.  It is all-encompassing.  “All thy marvelous works.”  Can we truly comprehend all of the marvelous works of God?  His preservation, forgiveness, conversion, deliverance, creation, provision, guidance, justification, sanctification, atonement, reconciliation, salvation, answered prayers and we shutter to leave something out.  If we are willing to talk of His deeds, God has given us plenty to talk about!

Gladness and joy are the appropriate spirit in which to praise the goodness of God.  Joy and thanksgiving go together.  Can you be sad while counting up all the blessings God has bestowed upon you?  Can you truly be thankful and not be joyful?  We rejoice in the Lord.

Thanksgiving and Prayer.
In Psalm 9:13, David pleads, “Have mercy upon me, O LORD.”  This breathes forth a humble spirit.  It exudes a deep spiritual need.  It indicates self-knowledge and self-awareness.  It make appeal to the source which possesses the power of spiritual healing.
Thou liftest me up from the gates of death.  Sickness, sin, despair, and temptation have worked to bring us low.  When it seems helpless and hopeless, God delivers and saves.  Underneath us are the everlasting arms of Almighty God.
The psalmist returns to praise.

This day of thanksgiving, let us use our lips to declare the true feelings of our hearts as we stand overwhelmed by God’s graciousness and lovingkindness.