A Lifestyle of Thanksgiving

Luke 17: 11 – 19 (NIV): Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

Leprosy was a dreaded, terrible disease in New Testament times. We call it Hansen's Disease today and it is treatable, but there was no treatment back then. People feared that it was contagious, so victims were forbidden from ever making human contact again – except with other people with the disease.There was one cure, however. A person could be healed by God himself. The Bible made provision for this. In Leviticus 14, God instructed that if a person was cured, a priest must declare that he had been healed. I suspect this was a rare event, but the Bible tells of several instances when it did. This is why Jesus told the ten lepers to go present themselves to a priest, so they could be declared healed. They could have never moved back in with their families unless a priest said they were clean. Notice that in the act of obeying Jesus, they were healed. They were still lepers when they started toward town, then as they went, they were healed. How wonderful that must have felt. Jesus said it was their faith that healed them. Our faith is the delivery truck that God uses to deliver his goodness to us. We can't be healed without it and we cannot be saved without it. Now, the story takes an interesting twist. Nine of the lepers just kept going, but one, who happened to be a Samaritan, ran back and fell at Jesus' feet. He was the one who showed true thanksgiving. He made the effort to turn back. He humbled himself by falling at Jesus' feet, and he worshiped Jesus for what he had done for him.Jesus has given us so much more than a temporary healing. He has given us eternal salvation. Let us follow this leper's example and make the effort to thank him. How do we do this? By living a lifestyle of thanksgiving every day. We show our thanks by humbling ourselves before him and by worshiping him for his goodness to us. Yes, let us take time to say “thanks” this Thanksgiving, but may that just be the beginning. May we continue to give thanks by our lifestyles every day of our lives.