Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.” – Luke 17: 17-18
If you’re like me, reading Luke’s account of Jesus healing the ten lepers leaves me very critical of the nine who chose to continue on their way without turning back to express their thanks to Jesus. And that is a reasonable response, especially given that Jesus himself seemed a bit disappointed that only one of the nine – a Samaritan – proved to be sincerely grateful for his miraculous healing.
But that’s not really the challenge for us as we read this story. We’ve all experienced enough ungratefulness to know it when we see it, especially those of us who have children at home. We can spot ingratitude rather quickly.
What is challenging, however, is for us to identify with the nine who chose to go on, because that requires us to go completely against our nature. Ultimately, deep down, we are all self-righteous and our self-righteous nature makes us completely blind to our own shortcomings. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at driving habits.
Do you consider yourself a good driver? Sure you do. We all do. Do you feel that you drive at the perfect speed while everyone else is either too slow or too fast? Absolutely. And this really irritates you. Do you get irritated when others don’t bother to use their turn signals, or refuse to come to a complete stop at the stop sign just so they can dart out in front of you and force you to drive at their imperfect speed? Admit it… you would love to punch that driver in the nose.
We all have this thing about us that really makes it almost impossible to see ourselves in the same way we perceive others. And that thing, of course, is self-righteousness.
So back to the nine men who carried on without turning back to thank Jesus… As much as I hate to admit it, I can soooo identify with those guys. There are times when I can become just like my children when they were younger; that feeling of entitlement and privilege, like the world owes me something, like God owes me something.
The last time I drank alcohol was 5 years ago today. And I pray to God that that was my last drink ever. I was in such a bad way… my health was bad, my relationships with my wife and kids were incredibly strained, I was a hopeless drunk, I hated myself, I hated life, and I had even considered checking out completely. That’s how lost I was.
And that’s where Jesus found me. I didn’t find him, he found me. And he pulled me out of the grave I was in and said, “Let’s go, this life ain’t for you any longer.”
I’d love to tell you that there hasn’t been a day since then that I’ve not thought about all he’s done for me. But the truth is I can’t. There are days when I’m one of those 9 guys walking back into town, completely oblivious to my healing, and simply wanting to get my papers signed so I can get on with my life.
I don’t deserve the life I have today. But how awesome it is that God doesn’t give me what I deserve. How awesome it is that He chose to save me, of all people. That is the real miracle.
I cannot thank Him enough and I’ll never be able to repay Him. But I can tell people about what He’s done for me. He healed me, He saved me, and someday I’ll get to see Him face to face and fall to my knees in complete awe and adoration of Him.
Thank you, Jesus, for saving a wretch like me.
Former Blackout Artist 