Today's exploration of the Bible has led me to the book of Luke, chapter 17. It tells the story of Jesus healing the 10 lepers. This story has always left me with feelings of surprise, and more than a little sadness, too. Leprosy was one of the absolute most feared diseases ever during Biblical times. It ate away your flesh right before your very eyes, and left you a feared object of disdain, an outcast from even your own family.
And into this terrible disease Jesus walked straight in. It was something that most people ran from in terror, but Jesus calmly let the men approach him without any sign of fear or disdain. Not only did He mix with them, but He loved them - He loved them and He healed them.
He healed them. He removed this terrible pestilence from their bodies and gave them back their lives. He gave them back their families, and their friends, and, one may even argue, their humanity. I imagined myself in their positions. I imagine the whisper of hope that I felt when I saw Jesus coming from afar. I think of the overwhelming memories of my old life that flooded me when I headed to show myself to the priest, and the shock of finality when he pronounced me cleansed.
The first thing that I would have done, once I realized that my life had been restored to me, was to rush to the One who had given it back to me and thank Him as profusely as I knew how. I imagine that's what most of us would do. So why didn't the lepers do that? The Bible says that out of the 10 men that Jesus healed, only 1 returned to thank Him. And the one who returned was not even a Hebrew - he was a Samaritan.
This story makes me wonder...would I really go back to thank Jesus? Or do I just think that I would? Would I only thank Him if He healed me in person, if it was convenient for me? Or is my life truly a life of gratefulness, a life where I give glory and honor and thankfulness to the One to whom it is due? What about you? Would you be the one who went back? Or would you be among the many who took Jesus' blessings as a matter of course, never thanking Him for the miracles that He had done in their lives?
And into this terrible disease Jesus walked straight in. It was something that most people ran from in terror, but Jesus calmly let the men approach him without any sign of fear or disdain. Not only did He mix with them, but He loved them - He loved them and He healed them.
He healed them. He removed this terrible pestilence from their bodies and gave them back their lives. He gave them back their families, and their friends, and, one may even argue, their humanity. I imagined myself in their positions. I imagine the whisper of hope that I felt when I saw Jesus coming from afar. I think of the overwhelming memories of my old life that flooded me when I headed to show myself to the priest, and the shock of finality when he pronounced me cleansed.
The first thing that I would have done, once I realized that my life had been restored to me, was to rush to the One who had given it back to me and thank Him as profusely as I knew how. I imagine that's what most of us would do. So why didn't the lepers do that? The Bible says that out of the 10 men that Jesus healed, only 1 returned to thank Him. And the one who returned was not even a Hebrew - he was a Samaritan.
This story makes me wonder...would I really go back to thank Jesus? Or do I just think that I would? Would I only thank Him if He healed me in person, if it was convenient for me? Or is my life truly a life of gratefulness, a life where I give glory and honor and thankfulness to the One to whom it is due? What about you? Would you be the one who went back? Or would you be among the many who took Jesus' blessings as a matter of course, never thanking Him for the miracles that He had done in their lives?
Luke 17:11-19
11 Now on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As He was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" 14 When He saw them, He said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them them, when he saw that he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him - and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, "Were not all 10 cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19 Then He said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
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