As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
Memory Verse: The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe. Proverb 18:10
Many things in life moves us closer to God. While some may have accepted Jesus because they choose to do so, some have accepted Him as a result of circumstances and situation they find themselves in, one in which they really need Jesus. Whiles there is no right or wrong way of deciding on one’s salvation, the motive backing it is so important that it goes ahead to determine the quality of relationship we build with the God as time goes on. This then impacts the way we behave, relate with others and represent the body of Christ as a whole.
Today’s bible text tells us of a story of ten men who were healed by Jesus of leprosy. Though the bible did not tell us how long each of them had carried the leprosy for before meeting Jesus, we found out they were sectioned, allocated a kind of camp to people with diseases. Laws back then forbade them to mix with people who were clean, whole and without diseases and as such they had to be isolated. Their disease had no cure and the only path for them was to gradually wait until their body gradually depreciated, disfigured and finally die. They were outcasts, far away from families and friends.
The challenges they faced had separated them and they definitely had no means of meeting up with peers any longer. They were no longer in a position to go shopping or acquire goods for their daily needs, they had a barrier and until such barrier gets removed there was never going to be any sort of progress in their lives.
Leprosy was pretty much an incurable disease as no physicians then had a cure. They however knew the power in the name of Jesus and all ten of them cried out “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” and out of compassion Jesus gave them the direct medication to their illness “Go show yourselves to the priests.”. According to the law of Moses back then according to Leviticus 14 the priest was the only one able to verify a person’s recovery and as such Jesus gave them their healing and this was certified by the priest who declared them clean. This was all they needed to do but unless Jesus had activated that movement, there would be nothing for the priest to confirm.
Of all the ten men who cried out to Jesus only one man, only one of the healed came back giving thanks. Only one man appreciated Jesus and this led to Jesus asking for the remaining nine men who at the time had gone to play catch up with the world.
Anyone can be in the situation of those ten men and whiles the challenges of live moves us from pillar to post and we are all shouting “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”, the question to ask ourselves is “what will I do when I have been healed, when this trouble is over and I am made whole?” The response to such questions lays in what we are doing when in those problems. Are you spending time building a genuine relationship with God or are you simply in the relationship for what you seem to benefit?
God cannot be mocked, His mercy is not driven by our acts as He knows our intentions and as such deals with us solely based on those and whom He chooses. If God were to remove the stigma today what will you do next? Will you still focus on Jesus or play catch-up with the world? Is your priority showing off to people who maybe never really cared about you?
I urge you to step back today and examine yourself, only one of ten appreciated Jesus and had permanent healing. Are you like the nine?
They have left themselves exposed by thinking they have come to the end of the road with troubles. A wise person knows that life is full of challenges and with the devil still roaming around, his mission has not changed, never changes and staying under the shadow of God Almighty is the only guarantee of complete and permanent deliverance.
What happens when you hit the next challenge? You may have received your healing now but retaining that victory is for those who remains in Christ.
PRAYERS:
- Father I thank you for a wonderful word from your throne
- Thank you for your grace and mercies towards me.
- Thank you for your blessings that endureth forever and your continuous healing on all sides
- You are a faithful God and I thank you for your wonderful works. Help me from today to have a solid relationship with you. A genuine one without selfishness but selflessness.
- I am grateful for the gift of life and for your endless grace
- Forgive my sins o Lord and receive my sacrifice of praise, AMEN.
