All of us who are Christians have been cleansed by Jesus, as were the ten lepers in this story. The leper’s cleansing was a physical cleaning that improved his earthly life, but our cleansing is a spiritual cleansing that will give us eternal life with God. Not only does God cleanse us from our guilt but he then cares for us every day. He blesses us, protects us, guides us, speaks to us, and continues to save us. So how will we respond to this? In today’s story, nine of the ten lepers who were healed went on with their lives without giving Jesus a second thought. As a result, they missed the biggest benefit of their encounter with Jesus. They were healed but their hearts remained unchanged. One of those who was healed, however, returned to Jesus. And as a result, his faith made him truly spiritually well. His heart was changed as well as his body. I encourage you today to do what this one healed man did. Go to Jesus often and give him thanks and praise. Do not be like these nine ex-lepers who went on with their lives taking Jesus’ kindness for granted without a second thought. Be like the one leper who praised God and fell at the feet of Jesus in worship. Take time often to remember and celebrate what God has done for you. Our response of praise will have a huge faith building effect. It will bolster our faith but it will also stoke the faith of others as we praise him openly. Strong faith is built by praise and thanksgiving.
Pause, reflect, celebrate and praise.
Read Luke 17:11-19
