The Thankful Leper
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, 'Jesus, Master, have pity on us!' When he saw them, he said, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' 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? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?' Then he said to him, 'Rise and go; your faith has made you well.'" (Luke 17:11-19, NIV)
Each night, we watch a short Bible story cartoon with our daughters, and then read a Bible story. If you're interested, you can search YouTube for "Saddleback Kids", and there are cartoon videos for most all Bible stories. I can 100% verify these videos are theologically correct and sound. Back to the story. Bayley has been super interested in "The Thankful Leper". We watch it over and over. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not always tuned into the episode. When you've watched the same one 1000 times, you pretty much know the words. But God's Word does not return void, does it?
A couple of things have stood out about this story. First, in the cartoon, Jesus comments that the leper coming back to give thanks is bringing glory to God. This is small and BIG at the same time. Do you forget to give thanks? I certainly do. But we are giving God glory when we show a heart of gratitude. Second, the leper who returns to Jesus never questions his Savior as to why he had to endure the illness. I, for one, question all the time. ALL. THE. TIME. But this man was healed, he had faith. He left it at that.
There is much to be learned from the thankful leper. And for that, I am thankful
