The 10%

This morning my Good Morning Girls Bible study centered on Luke 17, verses 11 to 19.  For many this is a familiar passage, and so it is for me…

¹¹ Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. ¹² Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. ¹³ And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
¹⁴ So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
¹⁵ And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, ¹⁶ and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
¹⁷ So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? ¹⁸ Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

Before I read this, I wondered how this part of scripture would fit with the study’s theme, “Loving Like Jesus.”  But, it was about Jesus, so I began reading.  Even now as I am writing this, my heart is convicted and tears form.  Here were ten men, outcasts because of a disease they had no control over.  They all “lifted up their voices” to Jesus.  They were all sent to the priests and were all healed on their way to see them.  And yet, only one returned to give Jesus thanks, to publicly give glory to God for the wonderful gift he had been given.

Jesus even asked about the other nine.  Where were they?  Did they not want to take time to say “Thank You,” to honor the Source of their healing? 

(Interestingly, the text mentions ten lepers.  Only one returns.  That’s ten percent of the group who came back to give honor to God.  The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 Rule, recognizes that most of the time 20% of the people do 80% of the work, give 80% of the effort required.  When I learned about this in college, my thoughts immediately went to my experiences in church.  How sad.  I hope your thoughts went to something much more uplifting.)

Anyway, only one of the men who had been gloriously healed by Jesus even took the time, the effort, to give thanks.  This wasn't the same as being healed of a broken ankle or a painfully twisted spine.  These men had been outcasts, not allowed into the flow of everyday life because they were contagious!  They were in permanent quarantine, only able to stay on the far fringes of society.  Once they had gone to the priests and had been proclaimed cleansed, they would be able to rejoin their fellow men.  They would no longer be outcasts!!  In one glorious, yet unassuming act, Jesus had cleansed them and changed their lives forever!

This lone man, who Jesus made very clear was a foreigner, not even a Jew, returned to give glory to God.  This implies that at least some of those other nine men who were healed were Jews.  They should have known better; praise was a huge part of the Jewish culture.  But in the end Jesus pronounced that this worshipful man should go home, that his faith had made him well. 

This man no longer had leprosy, so what had his faith made him well from?  As I read this final passage, I realized that maybe this man had had a deeper heart healing because he had chosen to honor Jesus with a thankful heart.  This man chose to make giving glory to God his priority!  Not showing off his new skin, not running home to a sweet family reunion, not doing anything else.  And he received a second healing, one more profound!

I have walked, okay, limped, in a broken body for almost 20 years.  In the early days of seeking healing from the Lord, I knew that I would use every platform I had to give glory to God.  I would be a bold witness for Him.  But instead of getting healed, my body became more broken.  As I took pain medication, my mind lost the clarity it had once had.  When I felt the Lord’s okay to have my right hip replaced, almost immediately the left hip began to complain.  And so it has gone. 

Some would say, and actually have said, that this is my punishment for having unforgiveness in my heart, for not having enough faith.  I have gone to the altar in brokenness many times, crying out to God to show me the error of my ways so I could live rightly before Him.  But God had made it very clear to me before I had gone to a doctor and knew what was wrong that He cared.  He spoke to my heart that He was my Healer, and He would heal me, but not before I had “suffering such as I have never known.”

I choose to not think about the things I can’t do, but to embrace what I can - lesson not easily learned by my “Type A” personality.  I want to be thankful for the life I have.  I want for nothing.  I have all material needs – and even many wants – met.  I have a wonderful, supportive husband and family, and friends from all over.  I am blessed!  No doubt about it! 

I want to be like that man healed of leprosy.  He had a grateful heart that recognized that God Himself had done the healing.  There is much healing that He could do in my body – I tell people I just have a body in rebellion – and one day, when the greatest glory will be given to Him, I will dance like King David did in joy and adoration of the One who made me and chose to heal me. 

As I have waited for that bodily healing, God has been faithful in so many other ways.  It is because of Him that I have hope and believe this earthly body is not all there is.  I have learned time and time again how much love the Lord has for people, including me.  He taught me that in my weakness He would be strong in me.  He has taught me how to slow down, how to not expect to earn my worth through what I do.  He took a wounded heart and bound it up, redressing it every time I tore the bandages off, until it finally healed. 

Jesus has been faithful to me, and I want to tell Him “thank you” publicly!!  I want to be like that leper who recognized his Healer and came back to praise Him.  I am even more determined that people will know the source of my peace, my hope. 

I will not be counted among those who choose to take from God – the very air we breathe is His provision – and do not stop to turn to the Provider with a humble heart.  I will speak of His goodness, His love, His majesty in a more purposeful way because of the example of a healed leper.  Will you join me?  It will take all of us to pick up the slack and, hopefully, we’ll make the Pareto Principle a foreign one among God’s people.