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You know the story very well. Ten lepers were healed by Jesus and only one came back to give thanks. Luke says he fell on his face before the Lord. He was overjoyed and couldn't control his emotions. And why not? He's been healed of leprosy.

For 20 years he was a leper living in this remote corner, separated from his family, forgotten by his friends, cut off from his own people. Suddenly the disease vanishes and with it the twisted limp, the crooked fingers, the atrophied muscles. In less time than it takes to tell the story the disease and all its ugly tentacles are pulled from his body, leaving not a trace behind them. He stretches his arms high above his head and then picks up a stone to see how far he can throw it. He begins to walk and then runs and finally leaps into the air. He is whole again. Healthy again. Clean again. No longer an outcast. No wonder he shouted. I would too.

When Luke adds, "He was a Samaritan, "the shock is such that we ought to read it this way: "Think of it. A Samaritan." Remember, Jesus was a Jew and the Jews thought Samaritans were half-breed traitors. To make matters worse, he is a Samaritan leper. To a Jew, a more repulsive combination could not be found. He was from the wrong race, he had the wrong religion, and he had the worst possible disease. In religious matters, this Samaritan knew almost nothing and what he knew was mostly wrong! But he knew Jesus had healed him and he knew enough to be grateful to God. That statement is why this story is in the Bible.

Let me go one step further. Luke doesn't say so directly, but I think he implies that the other nine were Jews. If that's so, then what this story really means is that those who should have been most grateful weren't. And the one man who shouldn't have come back did.

This whole story pictures life as it really is. First, it is a picture of the abundant grace of God. This is a cure by wholesale - a whole hospital, colony of lepers (imagine all the lepers along the Benin-Lagos highway) healed with only a word. Ten at a time. It is a vast miracle. Second, it is a picture of prevalent ingratitude. Nine out of ten people will probably forget every blessing they ever receive. Third, it is a picture of unexpected grace. Grateful hearts often pop up where you least expect them. Do we really show gratitude to God for all His grace towards us?

Now we discover what Jesus has to say about all of this: Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" and he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well" (17-19). Jesus asks three questions. Were there not ten healed? Yes. Where are the other nine? Gone. Is there no one here but this foreigner? No one. If you listen carefully, you can hear surprise, shock and most of all sadness. Jesus wanted to know about the others. Where are they? Weren't they healed? Why didn't they come back and say "Thank you"?

It's a good question. Why didn't they come back? Perhaps they were in a hurry to see the priest. Perhaps they thought Jesus was gone. Perhaps they assumed Jesus knew how grateful they were. Perhaps they were too busy. So where are they now? Gone off with their blessings. Gone to see the priest. Gone to see their families. Gone with no word of thanks to Jesus. Here is an amazing fact.

You look at these ten lepers and they appear to be alike. All had leprosy. All were outcasts from society. All were determined to do something about it. All had heard about Jesus and believed he could help them. All appealed to him. All obeyed his word. All were healed. On the outside they appear identical. Yet what a difference. One returned. Nine did not. One was grateful. Nine were not. One man found forgiveness. Nine did not. One man got two miracles. Nine got one.

All ten were healed. That's one miracle. But the Samaritan was healed and forgiven. That's two miracles. And that's what Jesus means when he says, "Your faith has made you well." The question remains: Where are the nine? The answer is, they got what they wanted and left. Jesus performed a mighty miracle for them and they said, "Thanks Lord, I can take it from here." They're like children who eat their fill and then run away from the dinner table without words of thanks to go out to play. When finally we look and see what God has done, when finally we count our many blessings and name them one by one, when finally we understand that every good and perfect gift comes down from the father of lights above, when finally we see that life itself comes gift-wrapped from on high, when we know that all of life is a grace, then do, we begin to praise, give, sing, tell, serve and also enter into the abundant life.

When finally we learn that we were born lepers, see what Jesus has done for us and admit that only through the grace of God do we have anything valuable, then does life really begin to change; wonderful things begin to happen to us. Ten men were healed that day, but only one came back to give thanks. Does that sound like you?

Praise is a choice. A thankful heart is a choice you make. No one is forced into bitterness. You choose the way you live. The one who returned to give thanks chose not to forget what Jesus had done for him. The secret of a thankful heart is a conscious choice not to forget what God has done for you. As God heals that area of your life that hitherto looked incurable, remember to go back and tell Him" Thank you my Lord!" Till next week. God bless you!