Meeting Jesus - Happy Hearts
In this passage of scripture, Jesus heals 10 lepers, but only one of those lepers returned to demonstrate how grateful and thankful he was. If you are a follower of Jesus, you realize we have so much to be thankful for…but even if you are not a follower of Jesus – you still have so much to be thankful for.
Did you know that you are among the wealthiest 25% on the planet? I know that with inflation, rising interest rates, cost of housing…you may not feel like the wealthiest people on the planet…
I read an article that said the cost of food had risen 18% in most of the USA since 2020. Most of us don’t feel like we are. Often, we focus and zero in on what we do not have and fail to truly appreciate what we do have. I believe the passage today will speak to us and help us develop Happy Hearts.
Let’s Read:
Luke 17:11-19 (NLT2)
11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. 15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
Leprosy was a terrible disease. The moment it was discovered a person had leprosy, their clothes, bedding, and possessions were destroyed in a fire. A lepers family and community would disown and shun them for the rest of their lives. To survive, they would often join a group of lepers, huddle together for warmth during the cold nights, and beg for food. As they hobbled along the road they would ring a bell and yell, “Unclean! Unclean!” to warn people to stay clear of them. And their condition grew worse and worse they grew a bit more grotesque and diseased every day.
In their leper colonies, they watched each other literally rot away, losing fingers, toes, limbs. Lose their eyesight, go deaf and eventually they would watch each other die.
Can you imagine what it was like for them to be shunned by their own family and children, and watch families interact with each other?
To see mothers caring for their babies.
Father and sons walking back home after a hard days work in the fields or on the boats.
To watch families walking to the synagogue to worship.
As those lepers watched families interact with one another, I imagine they longed for what they once had:
To again hear the words, “Daddy!” at the end of the day. To feel their children’s arms, hug their legs, and cling on longer for a ride. To sit down for a meal with their family…or to just hear the words, “I love you.”
Together we see them standing at a distance as Jesus entered the village. Grotesque. Smelly. Hobbling. In unison they raised their weakened voices in the air and cried: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
So Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priests at the temple. (The Priests at the temple were the only ones who could declare a Leper healed and their declaration would allow them to return to their families and society.) Maybe one by one as they were walking they realized they had been healed. Maybe one was able to walk without pain. Maybe one of their stumpy legs grew a foot. Maybe one was able to hear his feet shuffling down the rock path. They must have dreamed of waking up one day to find that they were no longer, UNCLEAN but CLEAN!
Now, they would be able to reunite with their family, their spouses, their children. Now, they would be able to rejoin society and begin to work with their hands. They would be able to walk the streets and make eye-contact with strangers again without the stranger turning away or gagging at their appearance and smell. They were ready to hold their families and celebrate!
As a forgiven follower of Jesus, you understood the pain of your sin and how your sin separated you from God, and prevented you from enjoying relationships with others.
So,
REFLECT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH GRATITUDE
Luke 17:16 (NLT2)
16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done.
So far in the Gospel of Luke, every time somebody was healed by Jesus…they celebrate! They fall at his feet, they leap and dance, they shout out loud…but nine of these men failed to return even to say, “Thank you.”
So the reminder for us, as God blesses you in your everyday life:
Whether God blesses you through a meal with your family, hugs around your legs, a paycheck, leftovers in the refrigerator…Simply be thankful. God has blessed you more than 75-92% of the population of the world. Before you ask him for something else…tell Him thank you.
If you have received forgiveness for your sins…try to imagine what your life would have been like had it not been for Jesus changing you. What direction would your life have taken if you had never surrendered your life to Jesus?
Think about that for a moment. When you are forgiven for your sins, you were given a new direction in your life. Jesus changed the direction of these men, and he changed the direction of your life as well.
Through the forgiveness of sins, Jesus made you a new person. He gave you new desires, new hopes, new dreams, new passions, new determination. New power. So, live this new life with gratitude because…
A LACK OF GRATITUDE IS DESTRUCTIVE AND SELFISH
Luke 17:17-18 (NLT)
17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”
These nine men had spent years focused on their disease. When their disease disappeared, they focused on their healing. They did not focus on the one who healed them. And that is what Jesus found disappointing. We have a tendency to do the same thing. We focus on the BLESSING God provides, but we do not focus on GOD. Followers of Jesus ought to live with a spirit of THANKFULNESS and GRATITUDE to GOD.
The apostle Paul wrote a letter to followers of Jesus in Rome, and in his letter he described why some people rejected the truth about Jesus.
Romans 1:21-22, 24(NLT)
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired…
Living with gratitude toward God is a path toward blessing. Living with ingratitude is a path toward destruction. Because of ingratitude God abandoned these people. Because of ingratitude their minds became dark and confused.
As a parent, we teach our kids to be polite and to say “Thank you.” We try to show them what it means to live with gratitude. And we understand that gratitude is a HEART thing. Just because my kids say, “Thank you.” it doesn’t mean they really are.
If you want to destroy a relationship with a spouse, family member, coworker…Never say “Thank You.”
Never show GRATITUDE.
NEVER show appreciation for what they do. Let them feel unloved.
A lack of gratitude in your life is selfish and destructive and will come back to destroy you.
And even if you have nothing. No material possessions. No money in your checking account. No food on the table…
Remember:
FORGIVENESS IS ENOUGH REASON TO LIVE THANKFULLY
Jesus said, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?” Then Jesus told the one that had returned to get up and begin his journey to the temple. So, what did Jesus do the other nine?
Did he say, “Fine, you aren’t going to thank me? I’ll give you LEPROSY again.”
He didn’t take away the toes he had returned. He didn’t take the foot back.
Jesus did not return to the Leprosy to the nine ungrateful men.
This should remind us that even when we are at our worst after salvation – Jesus does not take away our salvation. Once you have surrendered your life to Jesus, you are always forgiven for your sins!
The apostle Paul writes about God’s Grace in our lives even when we are at our worst:
Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
NOTHING can ever separate you from God. God’s grace is a LIFE-CHANGING LOVE. You can’t be bad enough to shake it. You can’t be good enough to earn it. If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, nothing in all of creation will ever separate you from God’s love.
Even when you and I are at our worst, God still loves. So live thankfully. Live with gratitude.
In the few moments after Kristy and I said “I DO” and were announced as Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Donahue…
Kristy and I exited the Worship Center, turned the corner, and we were alone, I looked at her, pulled her tight and close, and began to sob. I was overwhelmed that she married me! I didn’t feel lovable.
Yet she loved me and had just committed to remain at my side for better or worse, in sickness and in health, until the day we are separated by death. She could have married anybody else, but she chose me. Her love humbled me and created a debt of gratitude in my heart.
With these nine men, Jesus loved them so much that even though the nine did not return to give thanks, they still lived under the influence of grace and mercy for the remainder of their days.
You can experience that type of grace and mercy today. Just as the 10 Lepers were changed on the outside, you can be forgiven for your sins and transformed on the inside.