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| Monroe County |
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 17:11-19
Long ago I wrote a song about this story. It bewildered me.
My reasoning was, if I was healed of leprosy, I would throw myself at Jesus' feet and thank him. I would go to him and give praise to God. I would spend the rest of my life following Jesus. I would never forsake the assembly of believers. I would be the first to arrive on Sunday morning, and the last to leave. My time, my resources, my abilities, would all be spent on Him. Yes, my physical healing would be amazing. But my spiritual healing would even be more amazing. My gratitude would never end, and would be evidenced by not only my words, but by lifestyle and behavioral changes.
I would never walk away from Jesus again.
I would never be too busy to pray again.
On that day, one out of ten who were healed worshiped at the feet of Jesus. And he was an outsider. 90% went back to life as usual. 90% got busy again. 90% had no time for God. 90% had other things to do. 90% showed up on Christmas and Easter. How could they do that!?
I have seen some who were healed, and their spiritual, inner lives changed. Their choices changed. They have never been the same since God healed them. I have friends who were healed, delivered, and redeemed, and dedicated the rest of their lives to Jesus, with overflowing, unceasing gratitude. These are the 10% Jesus was talking about.
I have seen more who were hopelessly diseased, cried out to God for healing, begged for prayers for healing, were miraculously healed, and then, after a month or two, went on with life as usual. These are the 90%. They go to God when they have a need, and leave God when the need is met.
