By Mendi Behnen
As Thanksgiving approaches, I am reading Luke 17:11-19 which is about a man who is known for giving thanks. Luke tells us about how Jesus sees ten men with leprosy as he was traveling along the border of Samaria and Galilee. They recognize that He is Master …even over disease, so they cry out and beg Him for healing. However, when Jesus heals all ten of them, only one stops long enough to thank Jesus for the healing he received. The other nine hurry on their way to what lies ahead.
Surely the other nine were thankful to be healed from an incurable disease, but it doesn’t really show. Yet, the grateful heart of the tenth man is obvious by his actions; he acknowledges that God is the one who healed him and praises God with thanksgiving. I am reminded how often our true heart gives us away with the actions that flow out of it.
It leads me to question what my own actions say about my heart. Do I rush through life from one thing to the next …too busy getting to tomorrow to really enjoy and give thanks for my blessings of today? Or am I intentional about stopping along the way to appreciate my blessings and praise God with true thanksgiving?
If I stop right there, this is already a good lesson for me …but today I read verse 19 with new eyes. Go ahead. Read it again. I can wait.
Hmmm …this is interesting.
Jesus has already healed all ten men of their leprosy. THEN this one man comes back to glorify God and Jesus tells him that his faith has made him well. Wait …wasn’t he already made well? That’s why he came back to praise God with thanksgiving, right? Yet, when he returned Jesus acknowledged the faith this man had placed in Him and declares this man is not only physically healed, he has also been spiritually healed.
While I am grateful for the physical blessing I have received, I am all the more grateful for the spiritual healing I have received as God has forgiven my sins and offered me a forever relationship with Him. If you have accepted Jesus’ death as the payment for your sins, may your gratitude flow out of your heart through your actions. If you want to know more about how to have a forever relationship with God, please see our page on “How to Find Hope in Jesus” or contact us at info@inthemidstministries.org.