Are You The One?
We are often engaged in trying to find that one person, or thing, or situation that resonates with us and satisfies our lives. But we were made by the creator in such a way that we will never be satisfied or whole without Him. Only God can fill that place in us that He created just for fellowship with Him. If you have ever given someone a gift from your heart and they responded with little appreciation, you will understand the dynamics in Luke 17:11-19. Like these 10 lepers, you too may have cried out to God to help you out of the pit of your circumstance. And when God shows you His grace and mercy, He desires that you realize the magnitude of His love for you. Then God wants you to come back into fellowship with Him, in gratitude and praise, so you may receive the full blessing He has for you...that you be made whole.
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!” (Luke 17:11-13) By Jewish law, lepers were required to stay separated from non leprous Jews and to announce their condition as they came in the vicinity of other people (see Lev. 13:45-46). These 10 men understood the grave consequences of their condition and their need for healing, so they cried out to Jesus as He was passing by. Their plea was for Him to graciously provide them the healing they so desperately needed. If you have ever needed the Lord to fix your circumstance, you understand the leper's desperate cry...Lord, please have mercy on me!
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. (Luke 17:14-16) Jesus' order to the men to go and show themselves to the priests, was in accordance with Jewish law. Jesus was granting their request for healing, but they were required to be confirmed as clean (healthy) by the priests. The men did as Jesus commanded them, walking in faith even before they saw their healing! But when one of them saw that he had been healed, he praised God and came back to Jesus in thankful gratitude...and he was a Samaritan. God has heard your plea, and your answer is on the way. Keep on walking by faith and not by sight.
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:17-19) Jesus asked the Samaritan "where are the other nine?". Why was he the only one who gave God the glory and honored God with their gratitude? The one who returned was not even of the Jewish faith, yet he praised God and fell at the feet of Jesus in thankful gratitude for his healing. So, Jesus blessed him further, saying to him "your faith has made you well". Jesus had healed him physically and now He healed him spiritually of his sins. Did God's healing in your circumstance cause you to come back to Him in gratitude and praise? Or have you been satisfied to keep living your life in the same direction you were headed before?
The great English preacher, Charles Spurgeon said of this passage, "Nine obey ritual, where only one praises the Lord". The nine were performatively following religious habit, law and ritual. But one recognized and responded from his heart to God's magnificent grace. The question God has for you in this moment is... Are you the one? Are you the one who has a grateful heart for what God has done for you? Or have you received the blessing you asked for, and now forgotten about God? If you are among the latter, I submit to you that you have short changed your blessings and have missed the full healing that God has for you. He may have blessed you in your specific circumstance, but what He really wants to do is make you whole! Because He is the God who not only has the power to fix your immediate circumstance...He is the One who can fix everything about your life!
Blessings,
Rev. Glenn
Listen to “I’ll be the One” by Brie Babineaux
