Today’s Scripture Reading: Luke 14:25-17:10, John 11:1-37
Several times during this year’s Journey I have shared research from The Barna Group, a research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture. In today’s reading Jesus conducted His own market research experiment. It seems that things really haven’t changed much in 2000 years.
As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.” –Luke 17:11-19
One person out of ten was thankful…a 10% return
Wow! And I thought thanklessness was just a 21st century problem!
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines thankful as being conscious of the benefit received.
You would think all ten lepers were conscious of the benefit they received in their healing…they may have been; maybe they just got so busy with their new life that they put verbalizing their thankfulness to their healer at the bottom of their list of priorities.
An “attitude of gratitude” is commanded in the Bible:
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful . –Colossians 3:15
Even though God knows our hearts, He let us know in Luke 17 that He thinks thankfulness should be verbalized. The Samaritan’s demonstration of thankfulness was seen as an act of faith by Jesus. Because the Samaritan returned to thank Jesus for his healing he walked away healed in his soul as well as his body (New Bible Commentary)
As a parent, I know my children are thankful for the things I’ve done for them but I really like for them to express their thankfulness to me through words, either written are verbal. From today’s reading it seems that our Heavenly Father feels the same way.
Jesus deserves our thankfulness:
Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. –James 1:17
I wonder if faith to believe God to heal the pain of our past comes
from our demonstration of thankfulness for the things He’s
already done for us.
The nine unthankful lepers missed out on God’s best by not coming back to thank Jesus, their healer.
What is one thing you are thankful for today?
Heavenly Father, we have so much to be thankful for. We are blessed to be called your children. Holy Spirit help us to verbalize our thankfulness to our God each day. Teach us how to be thankful.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen and Amen!
© 2012 Dianne Guthmuller
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Luke 18:9-14,Mark 10:1-12, Matthew 19:1-12, Mark 10:13-16, Matthew 19:13-15, Luke 18:15-17, Mark 10:17-31, Matthew 19:16-30, Luke 18:18-30
