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Gratitude

Luke 17:11-19

Being rescued or delivered from danger naturally elicits a response of gratitude. Christians ought to have a permanent sense of gratitude to God since they were "delivered . . . from the power of darkness" (Colossians 1:13). But it is easy to take salvation (being rescued) for granted and lose the attitude of gratitude.

The connection between deliverance and gratitude was made by Jesus in an unusual situation on the border of Galilee and Samaria (Jews and Samaritans were not friendly neighbors). A group of 10 lepers called out to Jesus for Him to have mercy on them. Seeing they were lepers, He directed them to go and show themselves to the priests who would determine their state of health (common procedure in the Old Testament—Leviticus 13:2-3; 14:2-32). On their way to see the priests, "they were cleansed" (Luke 17:14).

But one of them returned—a Samaritan. (The group's common affliction, leprosy, overcame their ethnic resistance to one another.) He alone was so grateful to be free of his leprosy that He fell down at Jesus' feet and expressed his gratitude. Jesus was amazed at this. The least likely person to have thrown himself at the feet of a Jewish teacher—the Samaritan in the group—was the very one who did. And then Jesus said something equally amazing: "Your faith has made you well." The word "made you well" is usually translated "saved you" or "healed you" (Luke 7:50; 8:48, 50; 18:42). The leper was healed before returning to give thanks, and the other nine were healed in spite of not giving thanks (Luke 17:14). It seems that the Samaritan leper was healed of leprosy by the grace of God and saved spiritually because of his gratitude and faith in Jesus.

Because we have been given so much (1 Chronicles 29:14), we ought to be grateful always (1 Thessalonians 5:18). God seems to appreciate, and respond to, gratitude.

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