Sincere Gratitude
Submitted by Hunter Grills
November 21, 2023
Lu 17:12-19 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
As Thanksgiving approaches, many families will gather around tables and share different things that they are thankful for.
In the account of the ten lepers that were cleansed, we find a very curious statement made. Jesus told the one, “thy faith hath made the whole.” Although the other nine were cleansed, they did not return to express their gratitude to Christ.
How often do we as Christians fail to thank God for what He has done for us?
We are cleansed from our sins, but our Saviour wants to do more than just save us. He wants to conform us to the image of His dear Son (Romans 8:29).
His will is to deliver us from this present evil world (Galatians 1:4).
Like the one that turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God and gave Him thanks, we should separate ourselves and express our love, appreciation, and gratitude to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Our desire should not only be to be cleansed but to be made whole through Christ.
CONSIDER: Blessings are good, but not for themselves. They are tests of character, to draw us to the Giver with true gratitude.
