2 Samuel 14-15 Luke 17:1-19

“When one of them saw that he was healed, he went back to Jesus, praising God in a loud voice. Then he bowed down at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (And this man was a Samaritan.)” (Luke 17:15-16 NCV)

These ten lepers had formed a bond, a family if you will. They heard that Jesus was in the area, so they came close enough to call to Him, but not close enough to make Him unclean. They called and asked Him to have mercy on them. They wanted healing. Jesus called back and told them to go and show themselves to the priests. This took a bit of faith because it wasn’t until they started walking that way that they were healed. One of them, recognizing that He was healed, turned around to thank Jesus while the others continued their journey. The thankful man was a Samaritan. Jesus received his thanks and sent him on to the priests.

Do we take God for granted? Nine of those who were healed did. They recognized that they’d been healed, but instead of taking a little time to go back and give thanks, they continued their journey to show the priests that they’d been healed. Nothing in the Law said that they had to thank the Healer, just that they had to show the priests. The one who came back to give thanks was a Samaritan. Need we repeat how much Samaritans and Jews hated each other. As lepers, the Samaritans and Jews that banded together had something in common: they were lepers. Once healed the Jews would head to Jerusalem while the Samaritan would head wherever Samaritans worshiped. The Samaritan recognized his need to thank Jesus for the healing. It’s easy to seek God’s help when we pray. We’re excited when He answers our prayer the way we want Him to. How often do we forget to thank God when He answers? Today would be a good day to stop and thank God for His presence in your life and for the way that He’s answered prayer and provided for you.

Thank You, Lord, for all the blessings You’ve showered on me. Thank You for loving me when I didn’t deserve Your love, and for continuing to love me even though I still don’t deserve that love.

Scripture taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.