Jesus healed ten lepers, but nine did not return to thank Him for the incredible miracle. When we read this story, we are stirred with anger at the ingratitude shown by the lepers. Leprosy was a highly contagious and incurable disease of the day. Just the word, leprosy, brought fear to an uninfected population. For men to be cleansed of such a disease was an incredible, life-changing blessing. To fail to thank Jesus for this gift is an insult and disgrace.
Before we issue great condemnation towards these nine men, we must admit that we have been guilty of ingratitude ourselves. Every day, we are recipients of blessings, even miracles, but do we express gratitude for all of them? Do we thank the Lord for the boundless grace He shows toward us?
Surely, ingratitude is an insult towards the One who shows us mercy. We selfishly ask for more blessings --- and even expect them --- yet we often fail to thank Him for the blessings we've already received.
How would you feel if you continually helped someone, but never received a word of gratitude or thanks? What would you think of someone who selfishly welcomed every unmerited blessing, yet failed to recognize your generosity? You would consider such ingratitude to be an insult, wouldn't you?
Like it or not, we are more like the nine lepers than we'd like to admit. You awoke this morning. Did you thank God for that? You had a warm place to sleep overnight. Did you express thanks for that? You had food on your table again today. Was this a blessing you specifically thanked God for? You had a portion of good health. Did you praise the Lord for this? We could go on and on. God has been good to us. Did we recognize Him for this? Are we ashamed to give credit to the Lord publicly for all He does?
Many people only give thanks to the Lord on specified holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. But what about the other days of the year? Every day is a special day, a blessing from God.
It is assumed that the nine lepers went to the High Priest, as commanded, to be declared clean from leprosy. Yet only one returned to the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who preformed the miracle of cleansing. One man returned to give Him heartfelt gratitude for the life-altering cleansing he had received.
As believers in Christ, we have been cleansed from a much more deadly disease than leprosy. We have been cleansed from sin by the power of the blood. This miracle is the greatest of all miracles. Leonard Ravenhill once said that the greatest miracle of all is for God to take an unholy man out of an unholy world, make him holy, then place him back in the unholy world and enable him to live a holy life. That is something only God can do. May we never forget that. May we never cease praising Him for it.
Yes, ingratitude is an insult against the One who has showered us with bountiful blessings. Let us cease from such a sin in the future!
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