Remembering To Say Thank You - By Pat Stroop

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. Luke 17:11-19

To have leprosy was to be identified as being unclean, to be isolated, to be rejected and to be ignored. The first miracle of the story was simply for someone to recognize them, to actually respond to their cries and acknowledge their presence and worth. Jesus did that when He said to them “Go, show yourselves to the priests”. That sounds like an unusual thing for Him to say to them. Why didn’t He just heal them right there? Instead He called upon them to do something, to be obedient…so they go on their way. As they were obedient to the direction of Jesus, they were healed.

Sounds like a great story of obedience and healing. We could stop right there and grasp a valuable nugget of truth. God works through our obedience, but something else caught my eye and challenged my heart. That happened in verse 15, when only one of them returned to thank Jesus. Now I could be highly critical of the other nine that did not return. I am sure that they were overjoyed by this miraculous change in their life. They probably ran to their families and friends whom they had been distanced from for so long and celebrated. They talked about all the opportunities to reenter life that had previously been denied to them. They rejoiced! I am sure they were thankful, but they did not return to say thank you. They got so wrapped up in the next steps, the open doors, the opportunity, and the healing provided, that they forgot to say thank you.

How often do we do the same thing? How often do we miss thanking God for the blessings He provides? We take all the blessings, move through all the opened doors, follow all the roads He has paved for us and never stop to say: “Thank You Lord”.

Dear Lord, open my eyes to the daily blessings, opportunities, guidance You provide. I am so sorry for not thanking You. I will try to be more aware of Your blessings and more thankful. AMEN.