by Tim Hall

"I think a lot of people believe I'm going to fall flat on my face." The quote is from Christine Wren, taken from an interview in WomenSports magazine, October 1975. She was the second female umpire in professional baseball, and was vowing not to fail in her quest. It's a phrase often heard; it seems no one wants to fall flat on their faces.

Maybe we should reconsider. Such an action might lead to a commendation from the Lord.

Luke recorded the incident in which ten men afflicted with leprosy cried out to Jesus for cleansing. Jesus responded graciously, and sent them on their way to see the priest. As they left, they still bore the marks of their illness. Along the way, however, "they were cleansed" (Luke 17:14, New King James Version). The men must have been overjoyed; who wouldn't be delirious with happiness after being cured of so dreadful a disease?

Only one, however, returned to Jesus. Luke says of him, "Now one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan" (vv. 15,16). Look again, and fix the scene in your mind: The man was lying on the ground with his face in the sand at the feet of Jesus. Such was his expression of gratitude to the Lord.

Jesus commented first on the fact that nine lepers had not returned to give thanks. Then he spoke directly to the one who had not forgotten from whence his blessings came: "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well" (v. 19).

It is an act of faith to give thanks to God. Our neighbors attribute their bounty to the labor of their hands, or perhaps to "good fortune". Christ's disciples know better. We realize that all our good gifts come from the Father. We cannot continue on our way until we have taken time to give Him thanks.

And how shall that thanks be given? As a friend might casually thank his pal? Preposterous! This is the Lord of Glory! This is the One to Whom we owe our very lives. It is a privilege just to lie prostrate at His feet. Our humility is strong, but our sense of thanksgiving constrains us to come to Him. We must give Him thanks!

Yes, I need to learn to fall flat on my face, if it is the example of the Samaritan I have in mind. It shows the kind of response to blessings that the Lord seeks.

by Tim Hall

"Look at their size!" exclaimed Curtis. "They are so tall, so strong and stately! It must have taken years for them to become so large."

"Indeed," replied Andrew. "They stand head and shoulders above the rest. I wish I could be like that. But I'm just an ordinary Christian."

One might assume that Curtis and Andrew were discussing trees; gigantic oaks perhaps. In a sense, that's right. Isaiah once compared God's people to large, stately trees.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me," begins Isaiah 61:1 (NKJV), a passage read by Jesus to begin His public ministry (Luke 4:16-20). The work ordained by God was to preach good tidings, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty and to open prison doors. To this day it remains a prophecy of great hope for those looking for deliverance from a dreary world.

But what was to be the ultimate outcome of this work to which Christ was called? Verse 3 gives the answer: "That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." Some translations use "oaks" in the place of "trees". The idea is that those affected by the Lord's work will grow into strong specimens. And it will all be to the glory of God.

Now, back to Andrew's estimate of himself. Is he merely an ordinary Christian, doomed to live among the scrub trees of life? Though he may dream of being among the stately oaks, is his a dream destined for futility?

Jesus spoke to this thought in Matthew 13:31,32. He compared the kingdom of heaven to "a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." Though the mustard seed might be regarded by many as "ordinary", its potential for growth is extraordinary.

Is it humility or lack of faith when we put limitations on our spiritual growth? The power does not arise from within us; it is in the seeds of faith which have been given to us by God through His word (Romans 10:17). Our charge is to plant and water the seeds; the rest is up to Him.

The seeds of faith will produce Christians whose talents and abilities differ. But every talent, when developed to its fullest, will lead people to point to "the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

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