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. Luke 17:15-16
My family dog growing up was beloved yet very forgetful. Let me explain. Whenever I would give her a treat, she would gobble it up and immediately beg for more. I had to say to her, "Don't you remember I just gave you a treat?" It's amazing how quickly she acted as if she had never been given a treat. Maybe she remembered, but to me, it seemed as if she had forgotten. As silly as my observation about my beloved family dog was, what is not comical at all is the fact that sometimes I act like her. You see, I receive gift upon gift from God, yet I forget His goodness to me. One moment God is blessing me, and the next minute I am begging God for the next gift, without even stopping to show gratitude for the gifts I've already been given.
Luke 17 teaches a poignant lesson about gratitude. In this section of Scripture, we find ten men who had leprosy. All of them came to Jesus and called to Him, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" (verse 13). They wanted to be healed of their disease. In response, Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priests. This was because when someone had leprosy or any similar disease, the priest was the one who declared him or her clean and allowed to be let back into the community. With diseases such as leprosy, people were called to distance themselves from their community. The Bible teaches that as the men were on their way to the priest, they noticed that they were cured. Of the ten men, only one of them went back to Jesus to thank Him for what He had done. One man went back to thank Him. What makes this story so ironic? He was a Samaritan, one who was considered an outcast. He was not even a proper Jew. Yet this man had the right response, full of gratitude.
The nine men who were healed by Jesus yet never looked back to thank Him missed a huge opportunity to show gratitude. I am quick to judge them for not even turning around thanking Jesus for the incredible healing He provided, yet I, too, have been guilty of taking the gifts of God without giving Him gratitude in return. I am also quick to take for granted and forget His gifts. Maybe you can relate.
It is time that we stop, recognize the blessings that God has given us, and thank Him. It is time that we express gratitude. May you and I, with the joy and vigor of the grateful Samaritan man, never cease to turn and thank God for all He has done.
We have to be people who look for opportunities to show gratitude to God for His blessings. Today, take account of all of God's blessings to you. Keep a log, and for every hour, write down one thing that you are grateful for. Let's never miss an opportunity to thank God for each and every way He has blessed us.
Read Luke 17:11-19 (NLT)
As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy 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.”
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