The Tenth Leper
His reply was short but significant: ‘You are truly the tenth leper.’
Luke 17:1-19
Reference: v.17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” (NIV Bible)
Explore: I once received an email that had only one line in it. It read: ‘You are truly the tenth leper.’ I didn’t know the story of the 10 lepers very well but I realised very quickly what the sender was telling me. I had just been a part of a fabulous conference. I had met some awesome people, listened to some brilliant speakers and had the chance to reflect on my current ministry position. It was one of those significant weeks in your life that you treasure for a long time afterwards. I had been home for a couple of weeks and was continually reminded of things that I had enjoyed during the conference. It was then that I realised that nothing had been done to thank the organiser of the conference. I wanted to send him an email to say thanks but I wondered whether it was too late. I realised that it was probably better to be late than never and so I just sent him a quick email to say thanks. I outlined the aspects of the conference that had meant the most to me and expressed my appreciation in him making it possible. His reply was short but significant: ‘You are truly the tenth leper.’ On one hand this made me glad that he had fully understood my appreciation for his work. On the other hand, however, I realised that his comment had meant that no one else had expressed their thanks.
Application: Too often we appreciate the work that someone does and yet we do not express our gratitude to them. When Jesus healed people He did not expect anything in return. However He was able to point out the difference between those people who did appreciate the gifts that He gave. It’s good for us to think positively about others but let’s not hold back on the appreciation. When people know that they are appreciated by others then they tend to be inspired to continue on in their work. Let’s not hold back on our positive thoughts but share them with everyone we truly appreciate.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for all the good gifts that you have given to us. Let us not forget to give thanks to the people who share their gifts with us. Amen.
Who do you appreciate? How are you going to tell them?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.
1 comment:
So true! We often take for granted that people know how we feel. We often act like the other nine lepers and fail miserably at thanking God for all the blessings. I enjoyed your post!