• "Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
    Luke 17:19 (NIV)

    I have always read the story in Luke 17:11-19 with great appreciation. Jesus was willing to heal some broken men of their "leprosy". Ten men went away but one remembered with clarity what healing had taken place in his life and Who did the healing.

    We see in verse 1, "Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice."

    How did Jesus respond? He says - in essence - "I thought there were more than just you I healed?"

    The next thing he says caught me in a new and fresh way this morning. Jesus honored the one former leper's praise and adoration because he wasn't consumed with the thing he had been healed 'from' but consumed with and drawn toward the One who had healed him.

    Wow! Another reminder that this isn't about coming into this place just to have God "Take care of what I struggle with." No - it's bigger than that. He wants a relationship with us as we face our struggles and pains. How does He respond to the one returning leper? Verse 19 says, "And he said to him, 'Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.'" It was His faith in God and willingness to praise Him that brought continued healing. May we walk today with an appreciation for the One who heals as we thank Him also for what He has healed. It's easy to jump into the mindset, "I got what I came for...I have other things to do now. Living a life in continuous gratitude and thankfulness with Him is our new call for life...no matter what we choose to do next.

     

    Luke 17:11-19
    11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a] met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

     

    WRITTEN BY RODNEY HOLMSTROM, NATIONAL DIRECTOR WEST,