Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” ~Luke 17:17
One of ten. That’s a 90% fail rate. I find myself in that 90% far too often.
This is the story of Jesus healing ten leapers. They stood at a distance, calling out to Him to heal them. Leprosy was a skin disease that was essentially a death sentence. It was as if a person’s body was decomposing yet still alive. That may be a little extreme, but you get the point. There was a reason these people were called unclean and were forced to live outside the city.
So they called from a distance. Jesus healed all ten.
The Law mandated that when someone was healed, they were to go to the local priest who would then verify that healing had taken place. At that point a person could re-enter society. That’s what these ten people did. Jesus healed them and they began walking to the temple.
Somewhere along the way, one man turned back. He wanted to say “thank you.”
Jesus commended him but also commented about the other nine. If the Gospels had left off that last bit, the story would lose its punch. Not only is Jesus pleased when we thank Him, but He’s sad when we don’t.
How often do you say “thank you” to someone? As I’m typing this, I just stopped to make a note about a thank you card I’ve been putting off writing. Why am I procrastinating? Because it’s a small task that will take me no more than two minutes, therefore it can be put off. Instead of taking that two minutes right now, I know I’ll have two minutes tonight, or tomorrow, or this weekend. But then I never actually take those two minutes to write the card. It’s not that I’m not thankful, but it’s something that has become too easy to ignore. And in doing so, I become one of the nine that failed to turn back to Jesus.
How often do you say “thank you” to God? Everything we have is a gift from Him. The Bible says that He knows us so well that He knows the number of hairs on our heads and the number of days each of us will live. He is the One who breathes life into us and sets our hearts beating. He knows every thought before we even think it.
Are we thankful for the life He’s given us? Are we thankful every time He heals us? Or in the midst of sickness, are we thankful for the blessings of family to take care of us and modern medicine to help us get better? Are we thankful for the noisy house and the toys sprawled across the living room floor? Are we thankful for the quiet after the kids have gone to bed? Are we thankful for having enough to eat and the ability to take a walk in the August sun?
Of course we’re thankful. But do we express that thanks? That’s what God is trying to communicate in this short story tucked in the middle of Luke’s Gospel. It’s one thing to be thankful in our thoughts, but saying that thanks out loud adds power to our words. God didn’t think the universe into existence. He spoke. Speak your thanks to God, and then put action to those words and speak (or write) your thanks to those around you.