Luke 17:11-17

Ten Healed of Leprosy

11Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.
12As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance
13and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"
14When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.
15One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.
16He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan.
17Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sometimes when we plead for healing, Jesus tells us to behave as if we are already healed. In this story about the ten lepers who were healed, we often focus on the thankfulness of the Samaritan leper, in contrast to the nine Jews who did not “give glory to God.” But before any were healed, all were told to behave as if they were already healed. In Leviticus 14, we see the Lord’s instructions for lepers who have already been cleansed. They are to present themselves to the priests. In the same manner, Jesus tells these lepers (who are not clean at the time) to go and present themselves to the priests as if they were clean. On the way, they are healed!
Are you struggling in your marriage? Do you wish that Jesus would bring healing to your family? Is there someone whom you are finding hard to love? How is your relationship with your parents? Is it unclean? Do you desperately need Jesus’ healing in a vital relationship in your life?
Perhaps Jesus is asking you to “go and show yourself to the priests” as if your relationship were already healed. This is an act of faith. This requires loving another when we don’t feel very loving. This requires obedience when we don’t feel like obeying. This requires submission when we don’t want to submit.
But if we do, the results can be dramatic. This doesn't mean that if there is a serious problem in your relationship that you should just ignore it. But you should trust God to do the healing as you do all you can repair the problem. Take your co-worker out to lunch. Buy him a gift. Do something special for
your spouse to
express your love. Purposefully choose to enjoy being with someone that now you struggle to even be around. Behave as if you are already involved in a special loving relationship with that person. You may just find that as you are going, you (and your relationship) will be cleansed.
_____________________________________________________________________________

© 2005 EadsHome Ministries
All materials produced by EadsHome Ministries are free for your use as long as a profit is not made.
Materials copyrighted to others are specifically noted and linked.