WHERE ARE THE BENEFICIARIES?

Luke 17:17 KJV
And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

Dear Believer,

It is remarkable how the mind of man can rationalize, even to the point of absurdity.

Ten lepers met Jesus and called on him for help. Their case was so bad that they couldn’t even come close. They had formed a company of misery –unfortunate gang of the mortally sick. They huddled together a good distance away and sobbed to the Healer to help them.

Jesus told them to go go on and show themselves to the priests. As they went along, they suddenly discovered that their bodies were smooth.

No sores. No pain.

They were excited. One can only imagine how good they felt.

Jesus knew how it would go, and it seemed He waited for them to rejoice with them.

But only one came back.

He fell on his face, overcome with emotion. He worshiped. He remained on his face until Jesus told him to arise.

Jesus looked around. Where were the other nine healed lepers?

When someone has been sick for a long time with such a debilitating disease like leprosy — the kind of disease that drove him away from home and society into the forest — the least one can do is to thank the person who effected a healing.

These nine didn’t think it was worth it.

What could be going on in their minds?

They probably decided they would come back to thank him later. Yes, procrastination is also a brother to ingratitude.

Maybe they suddenly remembered their family and decided to rush home to see them, and then come later to thank the healer or even bring their family along. The family that abandoned them had now become so important.

It is even possible that after a while, they concluded that Jesus had nothing to do with their healing. Hadn’t they been begging God on their own to heal them before they met this man? This must be a coincidence!

Yes, that’s the way the human mind works when we want to avoid responsibility. We belittle what God has done and attribute it to someone or something else.

When a Believer is healed after a serious illness and the irritation of pain is reduced or removed…and he sees that death has been averted, he may start convincing himself that medication fixed him, or that his diet did, or that his body fixed itself. He may remember that some unbelievers got well after having more serious health issues, so it’s nothing special.

In other words, don’t let us make this about God lest we be seen as a fanatic.

Remember this: ingratitude isn’t a lack of appreciation for the good done to you; it is the failure to show it.

The Lord did it for you, but have you acknowledged it?

Have you spoken of the goodness of the Lord? Have you fallen on your face to worship?

The nine lepers got cured all right, and they went their way. The one that came back, who happened to be a stranger, was the one declared ‘saved,’ or ‘made whole.’

A Believer and an attitude of ingratitude are never friends. You are a Believer. Everything you’re blessed with is God’s doing.

Praise Him!

Have a happy day!

Your friend,
Deon.
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For more study read Luke 17:12-19
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