The Grateful Samaritan

This morning's passage for me was Luke 17:11-19. It was amazing. It comforted me, warned me and awed me.

A short synopsis of this passage is 10 men suffering from leprosy approached Jesus for healing. Jesus healed them from a distance. After he healed them 1 man, a Samaritan, returned to Jesus and praised God in a loud voice.

What God spoke to me from it was:

1. Jesus is the miracle worker.
Jesus had mentioned that faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain (Matt 17:20). Perhaps I might not even have faith the size of  mustard seed, that I can't even believe that Jesus will do great things in the ministry I work in.

2. The Samaritan returned in gratitude to Jesus.
Luke placed emphasis on the fact that it was the Samaritan, the outcast of the outcasts in this group of lepers that return to Jesus in thanksgiving (Luke 17:16). Often, I am one of the 9 who enjoys receiving and then forgetting to say "thank you".

3. Jesus was merciful and loving.
If I were to be Jesus, I would probably have ran farrrrrrr from them. It's called instinct. Now God had said that only godless men live according to their instincts and we are to live in obedience to God. Around us, there are people who needs to be shown compassion. Beggars who stink, prostitutes, those who are sick and dying with no one by their side, God has compassion on them and so should we. Or even not as severe as such people, we have parents and grandparents at home who are difficult and testing for us, outcasts in our midst because they're simply 'different'. Do we even show them mercy when they get nasty. Everyone is a mistake by God's standards, yet God can be so merciful and loving to us. Don't Christlikeness mean we should do the same boldly without biasness?

4. Jesus is the healer of my spiritual leprosy
This is a humbling statement for me. I was reminded that once I was a spiritual leper but God healed me. From the depths of the pit, he rescued me and cleansed me from the dirt in the pit. Jesus is always there to cleanse me and heal me from the conditions of my heart. And only he has the power to do so.

God bless,
Alicia