Thanking

We are currently revisiting the story of Jesus as written by Luke. Our goal is to complete Luke’s account with the RESET series. In order to do that, we will periodically skip over a passage. Today, Jesus reminds us about a simple (important) lesson.


Luke 17
11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. 15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”


Thanking. This seems like such a simple lesson ... saying “thank you”; but I think it is more than that. Yes, it starts with the words; but it ought to move into our hearts and our minds. We, as Jesus followers, ought to be the most grateful/appreciative people in the world ... considering the gracious gift we have received. The question is ... is that the way the world sees us? Do our words and our actions appropriately reflect the mercy we have received? If what we have received hasn’t transformed who we are, then the transformation isn’t complete.