"Were not ten cleansed?" (Part 1 of 2)

“Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”

                                                                                                            Luke 17:17-18

In Luke 17:11-19 we are introduced to the story of Jesus and the ten lepers. In Luke’s account, ten lepers have an encounter with Jesus as he is traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee.

As Jesus passed by, they stood at a distance and cried out “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When Jesus saw them, he instructed them to go show themselves to the priests and as they went they were cleansed.

Scripture tells us that one of them, a Samaritan, when he saw that he had been healed, came back praising God, threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.

Gratitude by definition is a feeling of appreciation or thanks; the ability to understand the worth or quality or importance of something; to be conscious of a benefit received; to be well-pleased.

If, however, this is all gratitude is, then why would Jesus care if only one man out of the ten men returned to give Him praise? I am certain that each of the other nine sensed a feeling of appreciation, understood the value of what had happened to them, were conscious of the benefit, and were well pleased.

The truth about gratitude is this: Gratitude is a feeling that isn’t truly revealed, until it is expressed.

If you give a child a candy bar; he or she may take it, smile, and run off. Someone might watch that interaction and say “What an ungrateful child,” because they didn’t say ‘thank you’. Even though, according to the definition, they felt appreciation, were conscious of the benefit, aware of its worth, and well pleased; they still appeared as ungrateful because they never expressed their gratitude. It is the expression of gratitude that validates the experience.

 

In fact, gratitude is not truly gratitude at all if we are not moved beyond appreciation to thanksgiving. Robert Brault once said:

“There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed; it is plain old fashioned ingratitude.”

Many of us like the ten lepers never move beyond appreciation into the realm of expression!

 

Pastor Scott Burr                                                                    

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/