Gratitude Leads to Joy!
Gratitude Leads to Joy!
“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?’” (Luke 17:12–18).
Nine lepers were more interested in following the religious prescription—to show oneself to the priest meant receiving a certificate of cleansing, being reinstated into the synagogue, reentering society and regaining acceptance from family and neighbors. It meant a social, religious, and medical “clean bill of health.”
Rather than seek immediate approval and acceptance from the priests and society, one leper chose to rush back to Jesus with happy abandon. He was less interested in “getting on with his life” and more concerned with acknowledging God’s mercy and pouring out gratitude to his Savior.