Seeking with Thanksgiving

Where Are the Nine? A Call to Grateful Living

There's something profoundly human about forgetting to say thank you. We rush through our days, checking boxes, solving problems, and moving from one crisis to the next. And somewhere in the chaos, gratitude gets lost.

The Gospel of Luke tells a story that cuts right to the heart of this struggle—a story about ten desperate men, one miraculous healing, and a question that still echoes through the centuries: "Where are the nine?"

## The Outcasts Who Cried for Mercy

Picture this: ten men standing at a distance, their voices lifted in desperation. "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" They were lepers—society's untouchables, forced to live outside the city walls, required by law to shout "unclean, unclean" whenever anyone approached. If the wind was blowing, they had to maintain a distance of 150 feet from healthy people.

These ten men represented an unusual fellowship. Jews and Samaritans—groups who normally despised each other—had found common ground in their shared misery. Suffering has a way of stripping away prejudice, doesn't it? When you're desperate enough, the barriers we erect between ourselves suddenly seem ridiculous.

Jesus saw them. And instead of healing them on the spot, He gave them instructions: "Go and show yourselves to the priests."

## The Journey of Faith

Here's where the story gets interesting. Jesus didn't heal them first and then send them to the priests. He sent them while they were still lepers, still covered in disease, still outcasts. The healing would come *as they went*.

This was an enormous ask. The ritual for a cleansed leper was elaborate—involving two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, hyssop, multiple washings, complete body shaving, and a seven-day waiting period. And that was just the beginning. But Jesus was asking them to start this journey while still sick, trusting that healing would meet them somewhere along the way.

It reminds us of another story from the Old Testament. Naaman, the mighty Syrian commander, also suffered from leprosy. When he finally made his way to the prophet Elisha, he had expectations. He thought Elisha would come out, wave his hands dramatically, call on God's name, and—boom—instant healing. Instead, Elisha sent a messenger with simple instructions: wash in the Jordan River seven times.

Naaman was furious. The Jordan? That muddy, unimpressive river? He stormed off in a rage until his servants talked sense into him. "Sir, if the prophet had asked you to do something great, wouldn't you have done it? How much more when he simply says, 'Wash and be clean'?"

How often do we do this? We have our plans for how God should work. We've mapped out exactly how our prayers should be answered. And when God does something different—even when it still accomplishes what we asked for—we get upset because it wasn't *our way*.

## The One Who Returned

Back to our ten lepers. As they journeyed toward Jerusalem, something miraculous happened. Their skin cleared. The disease vanished. They were healed. All ten of them.

But only one turned back.

Only one, when he realized what had happened, couldn't continue on his way. Only one was so overwhelmed with gratitude that he had to return to the feet of Jesus, praising God with a loud voice, falling on his face in thanksgiving.

And here's the kicker—he was a Samaritan. The foreigner. The outsider. The one least expected to get it right.

Jesus' response reveals His heart: "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"

Do you hear the expectation in those words? The disappointment? Jesus *expected* them to return. He missed their praise. He longed for their gratitude.

## External Religion vs. Internal Transformation

All ten lepers were willing to go through the religious ceremony. All ten were willing to follow the ritual prescribed by Moses. External religious exercises are easy enough. We can show up, go through the motions, check the boxes.

But internal transformation—the drawing out of the heart in thankful love—that's rare. Nine obeyed ritual. Only one truly praised the Lord.

And that one received something extra. Jesus told him, "Rise and go your way. Your faith has saved you." Not just healed. Not just cleansed. But *saved*. This man received spiritual wholeness that went beyond physical healing.

Real faith moves people to action. Real faith doesn't just accept blessings passively; it drives us back to the feet of Jesus in gratitude and worship.

## The Tragedy of Taking Blessings for Granted

One-tenth returned to give thanks. I wonder if that ratio holds true today.

When was the last time you thanked God for clean water to drink? For dirty dishes in your sink that prove you just had a meal? For a roof over your head? For the fact that you can read these words right now?

We live at such a frantic pace that we rarely stop long enough to notice the blessings surrounding us. We're so focused on what we don't have that we forget to be grateful for what we do have.

There's a story about Matthew Henry, the famous Bible commentator, who was once robbed. That night, he wrote in his diary all the things he was thankful for: He was grateful he'd never been robbed before. He was thankful that though they took his wallet, they didn't take his life. He was glad that even though they took everything, it wasn't very much. And finally, he was thankful because he was the one who was robbed and not the one who did the robbing.

That's the perspective we need. Even in difficult circumstances, there are reasons to praise God.

## Three Questions for Your Journey

As we reflect on this story, consider these questions:

**What part of my life needs to be cleansed?** Is there something leprous you've been dragging around? Something you should have let go of long ago?

**Do I obey when I hear the voice of Jesus?** Or do I rebel, do my own thing, hang out with the nine who never returned?

**How can I step out in faith today?** Not tomorrow. Not when circumstances are perfect. Today.

When you ask God hard questions, He gives hard answers. But if you want to grow, these are the questions that will get you there.

## The Ongoing Question

"Where are the nine?" It's a question Jesus still asks. Where are the people who should be praising Him? Where are those who have been blessed, healed, restored, and saved, yet never return to give thanks?

God's blessings never stop. Therefore, our thanksgiving should never stop either.

The Samaritan leper had a faith that moved him to action—a faith that drove him back to Jesus. That's the kind of faith that saves. That's the kind of faith that transforms. That's the kind of faith that makes us whole, not just on the outside, but deep within.

Don't be one of the nine. Be the one who returns, who falls at the feet of Jesus, who praises God with a loud voice, who lives a life marked by gratitude rather than entitlement.

Because in the end, thanksgiving isn't just about one Thursday in November. It's about every single day, every single moment, recognizing that everything we have is a gift from a loving Father who expects—and deserves—our praise.