GRATITUDE

Jesus said, “Ten men were healed; where are the other nine? This man is not even one of our people. Is he the only one who came back to give praise to God?” Luk 17:17-18 (ERV)

This popular story about the cleansing of the 10 lepers had me puzzled, (and a little scared) for a while.

I found it scary because the 9 lepers were found guilty of disobeying an unstated command. Because it was clear from our Lord’s reaction that when He asked them to “Go”, He expected them to return.

However, even without an uttered command to come back, returning to say “thank you” is supposed to be the natural action to such a life-transforming miracle. This is the part that I found puzzling.

Leprosy back then was a devastating condition that meant separation from the entire society and even implied divine judgment.

Yet these 9 Jews got healed and simply went home.

It then occurred to me that maybe that was the reason, they were Jews.

Divine Healing was part of their heritage. Right from their inauguration as a nation, the LORD had promised to distinguish them from the other nations by keeping them disease-free (Ex 15:26; 23:25; Deu 7:15; Ps 103:3; Is 33:24, etc.)

They were Jews, it was already embarrassing that were leprous, just like the foreigner.

So, the foreigner might have found the cleansing of his skin a totally awe-inspiring experience, but for the other 9 Jews, it wasn’t the strangest thing in their history.

After all, if Jesus was claiming to be their Messiah, then he was only fulfilling his role by healing them, (and about time too!) Indeed, the big deal wasn’t the healing but the long delay.

But because the foreigner had no access to the Jewish heritage, he sincerely appreciated the divine gesture and came back to acknowledge it.

This was the lesson I got. We can get too used to the supernatural grace of God, that, if we’re not careful we can begin to take His presence, His grace, and His manifestations for granted.

Therefore, let’s practice thanking God not just for the spectacular and overtly miraculous; but also for the most mundane and everyday things in our lives. You will find out that, like Jesus to the Samaritan leper, He was actually expecting you to do that all along.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN