Having A Grateful Heart
Where are the other nine?
Luke 17:17 Luke 17:17 NIV
One day ten men with leprosy came to Jesus saying, "Have pity on
us!" Pity - it was an admission that they were desperate for whatever
charity another person might provide. "Go, show yourselves to the
priests" was Jesus' response. "As they went," the Bible says, "they
were cleansed" ( Luke 17:14). But the story doesn't end there. "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" ( Luke 17:15-16 NIV). What takes place next is very
interesting. Jesus asks, "Where are the other nine?" ( Luke 17:17 NIV).
Jesus is making a point: gratitude is important to Him. This story is
here to underscore the importance of having a grateful heart. Two
statements are worth underlining: "He came ! back," and "Where are
the other nine?" Gratitude is "coming back" to say thanks to the One
Who made it all possible. Gratitude isn't a natural or instinctive thing
for most of us, it's a learned discipline, one that comes with a
realisation that we neither deserve nor are entitled to God's blessings.
At best, we're graced recipients of all we have and are. The old cowboy
takes off his hat and says, "Much obliged." The words imply humility;
that I cannot get along by myself. They imply reliance; that I need
people around me, and that I need God. They imply value; that I
recognise the cost involved in giving. They imply gladness; that my life
has been filled with a joy that only comes when I reach out to others
with grace.
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