Scripture: Luke 17:12-17 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?”
Devotion: Imagine being healed of a devastating disease instantaneously. Can you imagine the awe and gratitude that would fill your heart? A moment ago, your life was entirely dictated by how you felt and were perceived because of the disease. And now, with the flip of a switch, you are clean. You are healed. You can live a normal life again.
At the word of Jesus, these lepers were healed. They were instructed to go to the priests so that the priests could assess their skin and its condition. Upon realizing that they were healed, only one returned to thank Jesus. Only one gave God the praise and glory that He deserved. The other nine, though their lives were dramatically changed for the better because of Jesus, quickly moved on to the next thing. They took Jesus for granted.
As we walk through this next week of our Been There series together, we are looking at the idea of being taken for granted. And as the rest of the series has shown us, Jesus knew what that was like. It’s easy to read through the story of the ten lepers and wonder how the other nine didn’t return with the same sense of gratitude. But, when we think about our own lives, we have likely seen something similar play out. We have all been taken for granted or looked over at some point in our lives.
So, this week, it is my hope that we can more fully understand and recognize that our God sees us. He cares for us. And the good that we do in His name does not go unnoticed by our Heavenly Father.
Reflect:
- When have you been taken for granted?
- Is there someone in your life right now that you have been unintentionally taking for granted? How can you express your gratitude to them?
