THE GRATEFUL SAMARITAN by Paul Stroble

One Out of Ten

The story of Jesus and the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19) illustrates God’s generous help and also the power of praise. In the story, Jesus heals ten lepers who had called out to him on the road. “Leprosy” was an umbrella term for various skin conditions that also included what we now call Hansen’s Disease. Upon being healed, the group went off to present themselves to the priest, for their condition had made them spiritually “unclean” as well as physically contagious. But one man—a Samaritan who would not have gone to the Jewish priest—praised God and thanked Jesus. Jesus affirmed that his faith had made him whole. Let’s call him “the grateful Samaritan.”

Taking Time for Gratitude

Expressing gratitude is a wonderful thing. You feel good doing it, and you make the other person happy, too. Over the years, I’ve shared gratitude with several persons who helped me in some way. In three or four cases, the person passed away unexpectedly, and I felt so glad I took the time to express appreciation.

I’ve felt sad on different occasions when I helped someone, or gave them a gift, and the person didn’t acknowledge what I’d done. It’s important to remember that providing help and being generous are always good things, and getting recognized in return is actually optional. But nevertheless, your heart is warmed when you receive gratitude.

Expressing Gratitude to God

But sometimes I fail to thank God right away for the answer to a prayer. The other day I’d prayed about something, it turned out well, and I remembered about a half-hour later to thank the Lord for his help. At least I remembered eventually, but I’d like to be in a better habit of praising God routinely.

Jesus had human feelings just like the rest of us, and I wonder if he felt a little sad that only one of the ten returned to thank him.

Yet all ten were healed, not just the one with the best faith! That wonderfully illustrates the free grace of God and the compassion that God shows to ALL of us. None of us deserves or earns God’s favor, but God lavishes us with many blessings that we don’t always realize, let alone acknowledge.

Practicing Gratitude

How wonderful when we can cultivate the habit of praising God more routinely! Let’s practice this—-and I’ll do it, too. Make a list of the blessings in your life, and also a list of the things for which you need God’s help. Thank God for the blessings, and thank God in advance for God’s help with the problems. Keep the list handy as you go about your days, and remember to give praise to God!

by Dr. Paul Stroble

Paul blogs at paulstroble.wordpress.com and paulstroble.blogspot.com. You can find his many books about faith and the Bible at amazon.com.