“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.” —Luke 17:15–16
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the account of Jesus healing ten men who had leprosy. Leprosy at that time was an incurable disease, and if you had leprosy, you knew you were going to die. It was only a matter of time. Not only that, you would be ostracized by the community. In fact, if you were approaching someone, you had to yell out, “Unclean! Unclean!” No one would want to be around you.
We pick up the story in Luke’s gospel: “Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’” (17:11–13 NKJV).
These men came to Jesus and asked Him to heal them. And He did. Then Luke tells us, “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan” (verses 15–16 NKJV).
But Jesus said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” (verses 17–18 NKJV).
Of course, we’re quick to receive the blessing from God but we’re not so quick to return thanks to Him.
The Bible tells us, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV).
Have you thanked God recently for what He has blessed you with? Most importantly, have you taken the time to thank Him for your salvation? We need to give thanks to God, because there is so much to thank Him for.