A Heart of Thanksgiving

On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus” feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:11-18).

From this well known passage, we may learn two very important lessons. The first lesson is that we all stand in need of the Lord’s mercy and healing. The ten lepers needed healing and knew that Jesus was capable of providing that if he was willing to have mercy on them. They knew that they didn’t deserve this mercy, but they knew whom to ask. Although we don’t have physical leprosy, we all have been exposed to spiritual leprosy (i.e., sin), which is capable of destroying our souls (cf. Romans 3:23; 6:23). Thankfully, like the lepers, we know someone who is capable of saving us who has abundant mercy available for those who will come to him seeking healing for their souls (1 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 2:4; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 4:16). Just like the physical leprosy was completely cleansed, our spiritual leprosy may be completely cleansed by the Great Physician. As Isaiah wrote, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). We have the assurance that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). As long as we continue to walk in the light, the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse our sins (1 John 1:7) and we “have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The second lesson we learn is that the salvation of our souls should produce a heart of thanksgiving. One of the lepers recognized his healing and praised God with a loud voice returning to Jesus to worship him and give thanks. This thankful heart epitomizes the words of the psalmist, recorded in Psalm 100:1-5, “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

We often assume that salvation automatically produces a heart of thanksgiving. Unfortunately, nine healed lepers did not have a heart of thanksgiving for one reason or another. Instead of criticizing them, let us examine our own hearts in order to ensure that we are not like the nine. Do we have a heart of thanksgiving on a regular basis? It is one thing to be thankful occasionally, but what about daily? Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). The phrase “in the Lord” is the reason we are able to rejoice always. If we are in the Lord, then we are children of God and our sins are forgiven. We may “rejoice that [our] names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). We may rejoice because we have “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for [us]” (1 Pet. 1:4). We may rejoice because in Christ we have “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3). We may rejoice because since we have the LORD as our shepherd, we “shall not want” (Psa. 23:1). We may rejoice because “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). Indeed, as the song says, let us “count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings, see what God hath done!”

Today and every day, let us, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever” (1 Chron. 16:34).