A Gracious Experience

Today, as I was getting ready to run an errand for One Warm Coat a man who I had helped during the Homeless Court process stopped to tell me that since being cleared of his violations he was able to get a job because he could pass a background check. He told me because he wanted to thank everyone who was involved in helping him.
We do not always get thanks for what we do. That is the nature of the job. But it is always good when someone takes the time to show their gratitude. It reminds me of the story from the Gospels when a group of men are healed by Jesus. They are all overjoyed because of the healing, but only one man comes back to thank Jesus. I cannot remember what He says but I am not sure that that is the point of the story (at least from my perspective at this point in my life - of course there may be other interpretations).
As I see it now what the story shows us is that Jesus did His works out of the goodness of His heart. I suppose that is probably the most obvious statement ever, but it is something that we must remember. We have to realize that good works are not done in the anticipation of thanks but in and of themselves. They are good standing alone. It is in our best interest to imitate that behavior (which introduces a paradox - in trying to do something good in itself, purely for someone else, we are actually doing good for ourselves).
Anyway, it was a good experience and got me thinking about why I am here, why I do certain things and in general why we all act in certain ways. It is the last day of the year and I will be spending it with a few roommates and some other friends in the area. We are not sure what to do or where to go but I am sure that, because of the company, we will all have a good time.