What Do You Say?

"Jesus asked, 'Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?'"

- Jesus, Luke 17:17

"True forgiveness is when you can say, 'Thank you for that experience.'"

- Oprah

Over the years, there's been one question I've been asked more than any other: "Pastor, what would you say is the true mark of a Jesus-follower?" And my answer is always the same… "Gratitude!"  In Luke 17, Jesus teaches that gratitude is the difference between a religious person and a genuine follower of Jesus. It's the evidence that a person truly understands what God has done for them.

You remember the story? Ten men with a severe skin disease yell at Jesus as He passes by, "Jesus, help us!" He tells them to go and show themselves to a priest because only a priest could declare that the disease that made them "unclean"... that is, unacceptable to God… was gone. Sure enough, as they walked towards the temple, "they were cleansed of their leprosy." (Luke 17:14). In that day, this was a big deal! And yet, only one of the ten men returned to thank Jesus. And Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?" (Luke 17:17). Then, Jesus looked at this one man and said something profound: "Stand up and go. Your faith has SAVED you" (Luke 17:19).

Now, think about this: The Scripture says that the other nine were "healed of their leprosy," but that the one who returned to thank Jesus was "SAVED by his faith." The Greek word Jesus used here was sozo, which means way more than just physical healing. Sozo means “to rescue one from great peril, to protect, to keep alive, to preserve life, to deliver from danger, to heal body, mind and soul” - it means to be made whole. Sozo refers to the "wholeness" that enters a person's life who is reconciled to God through belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So, "gratitude" is the evidence that a person has received a gift from God that they did not deserve… that they did not earn and that they cannot repay!

When I was little, I would sometimes receive a gift and be so enamored by the gift that I would immediately run off and start playing with it. Suddenly, my Dad would get in my face and demand, "What do you say?" "Oh yeah," I'd mutter. "Thank You." To my parents, gratitude for a gift I was given was even more important than the gift. Why? Because gratitude is the evidence that I have received a gift I needed that I did not deserve.

So, let me ask you, "What do you say" to a God who opened your eyes this morning and gifted you a wakeful life… when you look into the face of someone who knows you and loves you and smiles at you?... when you ate that pecan roll for breakfast, and it tasted so good ‘cause you've been given the gift of taste? What do you say to the One who gave you the gift of smell to take in the fragrance of that rose… the gift of sight to take in the beauty of last night's sunset… the gift of hearing to hear your baby say "Dada" for the first time? What do you say to the God who gave you the ultimate gift of His Son, who came from Heaven to Earth just to show us the way from Earth to Heaven? When you find yourself enjoying gift after gift after gift that you have not earned, that you do not deserve, that you can not pay back… what do you say to the God who provided it?

You say, “Thank You, Jesus… so much!" And you will be SAVED!

AMEN

Pastor Harry

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