9 to 1 – what a ratio!

We’re emphasizing gratitude in our home right now. The teens ‘round our table apparently think that food falls from the sky and that laundry magically makes it way from hamper to washer and back to dresser drawer. So, there are some prompts thrown in from time to time to express thanks. In reality they’re not unique. We all tend to take what we have for granted, failing to express our appreciation to those who make it possible.

One day ten men in a desperate situation approached Jesus. They were ‘lepers,’ meaning they had some skin disease that required them to live completely isolated from the community and family. It was a kind of living death!  They had heard about Jesus’ healing work and when he came by where they lived, they yelled “Have mercy on us!”  He directed them to an act of faith. “Go show yourself to the priest.”  If a person’s skin issue cleared up, the priest could certify that and allow them to return to society. They had to act to receive what He offered! Let’s pick up Luke’s storyline: "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?" (Luke 17:14-17, NIV)  At some point, God met their faith with restoration! And just one saw fit to turn around and express his gratitude. Luke includes the detail that he was another kind of social outcast, a Samaritan; not a ‘true child of God’ in the opinion of the majority of people at that time.

When you receive the mercy of God do you remember to give thanks? If so, is it like the prompted thanksgiving of our teenage boys, rote and without emotion or is it like this grateful man in our story?  The Bible obscures his true reaction with a rather dry phrase ‘praising God in a loud voice.’  Today we might say he was freaking out. He was yelling, pointing at his new skin, jumping up and down, and crying. He didn’t kneel reverently when he found Jesus. He threw himself at His feet in an expression of complete humility, realizing he deserved nothing and received everything.

Let’s take two lessons out of that story today.
First, let’s be prepared to do what God asks before when He asks it. Let’s respond in faith preparing the way for His work to be done in us and through us.

Second, when we see Him moving, let’s give Him the praise of which He is worthy. Let’s make it more than a perfunctory, “thank you, Jesus,” as we rush on through life.  Let’s come and really worship.

There are days when I devote most of my prayer time to simply giving thanks. Out loud and one by one I start to thank the Lord for people, situations, and past mercies. More often than not, I find myself in tears as I realize how amazing His grace is. There is a corollary development, too. Faith grows in my heart to present Him with the needs on my prayer list with true expectation.

Here’s a word from the Word, an ancient song sung by those who recalled the Lord’s mercies in restoring His people to their land and faith after a long time in captivity. Make it your song today.

"When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream!
We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.
And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.”
Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!

Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert.

Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.
They weep as they go to plant their seed,
but they sing as they return with the harvest." (Psalm 126, NLT)

Don’t be one of the 9 who forgot their Source! Be the 1 who worshipped!