Luke 17:12-19 (NASB)
As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, 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 were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine--where are they? "Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."
We all know the story of the 10 lepers and how there was only 1 grateful leper who came back to Christ to thank Jesus. Added to that was the fact that that 1 grateful leper was a Samaritan - a lesser class race despised by the Jews. The fact that Luke highlighted this is likely to show that the rest were all Jews, the chosen people.
It seems, however, that the ratio of 1 grateful person out of ten helped is often true even when we help out others. Not that we're hard-out for people to sincerely thank us. However, what was interesting about this passage is the fact that the one who came back to thank Jesus actually received something else!
Yes, we know through common courteousy that whenever someone does something good for us, we are to thank the person, but already its not often that we get people coming back to thank us. I'm not sure if it's easy to do it always, but comparatively, I'm sure it's easier to give thanks to a human than a God who we cannot see and results in us not remembering to thank.
When I read the passage, it dawned upon me that the different bible versions stated Jesus telling that 1 samaritan an additional blessing! The KJV reads, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." It seems that that 1 leper was made whole! Young's literal translation states Jesus saying: `Having risen, be going on, thy faith hath saved thee.' The Samaritian man received his salvation that day!
It's not about getting blessings or having your wishes/wants come to pass and then talking to friends and people. Yes, testimonies before man are good, that's why Jesus told the people to show themselves to the priests. But in everything, before we run ahead of ourselves and bask in our new found blessing, we must build into our system a process to first turn back to fall at the feet of God and giving Him the glory for His amazing grace.
So firstly, we must remember to always give God the thanks for all that He has work done for us. Secondly, let's also remember to spend that thanksgiving time at the feet of God and make sure that it comes before we go ahead to testify before man.
Blessings,
M.
That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever. (Psalm 30:12)
26 September 2007
Thanking God before we testify before man
Luke 17:12-19 (NASB)
As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, 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 were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine--where are they? "Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."
We all know the story of the 10 lepers and how there was only 1 grateful leper who came back to Christ to thank Jesus. Added to that was the fact that that 1 grateful leper was a Samaritan - a lesser class race despised by the Jews. The fact that Luke highlighted this is likely to show that the rest were all Jews, the chosen people.
It seems, however, that the ratio of 1 grateful person out of ten helped is often true even when we help out others. Not that we're hard-out for people to sincerely thank us. However, what was interesting about this passage is the fact that the one who came back to thank Jesus actually received something else!
Yes, we know through common courteousy that whenever someone does something good for us, we are to thank the person, but already its not often that we get people coming back to thank us. I'm not sure if it's easy to do it always, but comparatively, I'm sure it's easier to give thanks to a human than a God who we cannot see and results in us not remembering to thank.
When I read the passage, it dawned upon me that the different bible versions stated Jesus telling that 1 samaritan an additional blessing! The KJV reads, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." It seems that that 1 leper was made whole! Young's literal translation states Jesus saying: `Having risen, be going on, thy faith hath saved thee.' The Samaritian man received his salvation that day!
It's not about getting blessings or having your wishes/wants come to pass and then talking to friends and people. Yes, testimonies before man are good, that's why Jesus told the people to show themselves to the priests. But in everything, before we run ahead of ourselves and bask in our new found blessing, we must build into our system a process to first turn back to fall at the feet of God and giving Him the glory for His amazing grace.
So firstly, we must remember to always give God the thanks for all that He has work done for us. Secondly, let's also remember to spend that thanksgiving time at the feet of God and make sure that it comes before we go ahead to testify before man.
Blessings,
M.
That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever. (Psalm 30:12)
As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, 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 were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine--where are they? "Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."
We all know the story of the 10 lepers and how there was only 1 grateful leper who came back to Christ to thank Jesus. Added to that was the fact that that 1 grateful leper was a Samaritan - a lesser class race despised by the Jews. The fact that Luke highlighted this is likely to show that the rest were all Jews, the chosen people.
It seems, however, that the ratio of 1 grateful person out of ten helped is often true even when we help out others. Not that we're hard-out for people to sincerely thank us. However, what was interesting about this passage is the fact that the one who came back to thank Jesus actually received something else!
Yes, we know through common courteousy that whenever someone does something good for us, we are to thank the person, but already its not often that we get people coming back to thank us. I'm not sure if it's easy to do it always, but comparatively, I'm sure it's easier to give thanks to a human than a God who we cannot see and results in us not remembering to thank.
When I read the passage, it dawned upon me that the different bible versions stated Jesus telling that 1 samaritan an additional blessing! The KJV reads, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole." It seems that that 1 leper was made whole! Young's literal translation states Jesus saying: `Having risen, be going on, thy faith hath saved thee.' The Samaritian man received his salvation that day!
It's not about getting blessings or having your wishes/wants come to pass and then talking to friends and people. Yes, testimonies before man are good, that's why Jesus told the people to show themselves to the priests. But in everything, before we run ahead of ourselves and bask in our new found blessing, we must build into our system a process to first turn back to fall at the feet of God and giving Him the glory for His amazing grace.
So firstly, we must remember to always give God the thanks for all that He has work done for us. Secondly, let's also remember to spend that thanksgiving time at the feet of God and make sure that it comes before we go ahead to testify before man.
Blessings,
M.
That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever. (Psalm 30:12)
