Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole

There were ten.  As Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, He came across ten men, all with leprosy.  They lifted their voices to Jesus begging Him for mercy.  He healed them all.  He told them to go and show themselves to the priests and as they went, their leprosy was healed.  This was an act of faith.  They were not healed right away.  They were healed as they went.  So when they first started toward the place of the priests, they were still leprous.  They knew the priests would be horrified for them to show up in their leprous state.  But they chose to believe, and they were healed.

 And then there was only one.  Out of the ten, only one came back to the Lord.  The Scripture says that he threw himself down at Jesus’ feet and gave thanks.  Jesus asked the obvious question, “Were not all ten cleansed?  Where are the other nine?”  Jesus turned to the only one who had returned to say ‘thank you.’ He said to this one, “Arise and go.  Thy faith hath made thee whole.”

 He had already been cleansed of his leprosy, but now he was made whole.  The second healing far exceeded the first.  The first only touched the flesh.  But the second touched the soul.  The first healing cleansed his skin, but the second healing cleansed his heart from sin and guilt.  The first healing allowed him to worship, but the second healing gave him a reason to worship.  The other nine experienced a once in a lifetime miracle, but the one who came back to give thanks experienced a miracle that lasted a lifetime.  How much we may miss if we don’t learn to give thanks!

 During this Thanksgiving season, I want to encourage you to take some time and throw yourself at Jesus’ feet and give thanks.  How much He has done for us.  How gracious. How patient.  As the old song says, “Oh, how wonderful.  Oh how marvelous! And my song shall ever be. Oh, how wonderful. Oh, how marvelous is my Savior’s love for me.” Let us return to Him, give thanks, and be made whole!