“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!” 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. 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 17:12-19
In ancient times, leprosy was such an embarrassing and deadly disease that no one wanted to associate with any affected person. And since there wasn’t a cure for this disease, those who were affected were rejected for ethical or communal reasons. Little wonder the ten lepers cried out loud when they saw Jesus. They knew that their deliverance was certain if Jesus heard their cry for mercy.
In that brief story of the lepers are several underlying lessons that we need to learn from. The first lesson therein is faith. As children of God, we need to grow in faith in order to live a life pleasing to God. Heb. 11:6a says, “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him.” In other words, faith is vital to living a fulfilled Christian life. The lepers had faith that seeing Jesus was enough reason for them to be healed.
Then again, when they thought Jesus would heal them instantly, they were instructed to go meet the priests. That alone could have made them doubt. Today, many Christians have so familiarized themselves with the leaders God has placed over them. They disregard their own pastors and prefer to seek help from outside. Had the lepers doubted Jesus’ instruction, they probably would have missed their opportunity to be healed.
Another lesson is Obedience. The Bible says it is better to obey than to sacrifice. Many Christians are stuck in a position because they failed to obey God’s instruction to them. If you study that scripture heartily, you will observe that their healing began after they obeyed. A simple act of obedience can save you from falling into error or even missing your opportunity to prosper.
Over time, I have observed that if instructions aren’t difficult to obey, people tend to think they aren’t potent enough to solve their problems. Just like the way Naaman was furious because he was expecting a dramatic and prophetic healing rather than a simple instruction to go bath in the river (2 Kings 5). As a Christian, beware of overfamiliarity with the Holy Spirit, your leader’s instruction and God’s words to you. All you need to be great might just be a simple instruction, stop dictating for God.
Lastly, God is a lover of anyone who shows gratitude for every little and great thing done for him. Ten lepers asked to be healed, but just one returned to show appreciation, and that one received absolute healing than the rest. Never disregard God’s blessings upon your life. Even as humans, we love to be appreciated for the minutest good we do, how much more our Creator. In this new year, make appreciation as important as breathing to you.
As you go about your daily life, never forget these lessons. Meditate on them day and night until you’ve been shaped by them.
This is our message for today, and we hope you were blessed. We’d also love to hear from you; please leave a comment below.
Would you like to find more resources to aid your spiritual growth? Click here to see what we’ve got for you.
Have a blessed day!
