As humans we seem to want most what we need least.  We want sustained control.  We want to be served quickly and efficiently with over-the-top hospitality.  We want to live life without problems and are shocked when they arise.  We want to be immediate fixers with a quick solution when troubles come into our view.  We want life to be fair as we see it.  We want others who we think are not pulling their weight or working as hard as we do to be more like us.  We want life to line up with our well thought out plans.  We pray for God to intervene in our lives according to our agendas, spreadsheets, and time lines.  If He doesn’t, we turn away from Him, blame others, or make trouble for those we think has made life difficult for us causing our discontent.  We surely are not the one causing these disruptions of life, are we?

Who (not what) we need most is Jesus.  Jesus changes everything.  Jesus does for us what we cannot do for ourselves—saves us.  Be the one who turns to Him, backs to the world, falling to our knees in gratitude for the One who saves us.

Luke 17, The Message

A Kernel of Faith

^1-2 He said to his disciples, “Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but too bad for whoever brings them on! Better to wear a concrete vest and take a swim with the fishes than give even one of these dear little ones a hard time!

^3-4 “Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.”

⁵ The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.”

⁶ But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.

^7-10 “Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”

^11-13 It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

^14-16 Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”

They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.

^17-19 Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Jesus came to earth seeking the lost to save them.  Jesus said so Himself.  We see many instances of God leading Jesus to expand his gracious love and compassion to “all nations” who are lost without God.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 

Jesus’ mission was first to save those descendants of Abraham, Moses and others God originally freed from slavery, led through the waters of the Red Sea, and who He guided and provided for on their wilderness journey to the Promised Land, along with other spectacular miracles for their protection.  But over the centuries, many  hearts turned cold and became hard as stones. 

God sent prophets to speak for Him, but most did not listen—especially those who rose to power as earthly leaders and turned from Him.  God sent signs and wonders to declare his glory but moments later His people returned to routines. The Light of glory they once experienced would dim until it was too dark to see God.

The prophets spoke of the Promise of a Messiah, “one who saves.”  This Messiah would come to save the people from all their sins.  But since He didn’t come on their time table and they grumbled once more.  His people’s view of salvation was more akin to God waving a wand over their oppressed lives to make life all nice and cozy, rich and comfy—without being in relationship with God. 

God stopped talking.  For four centuries, God was silent.  Then God said, it is time to fulfill the Promise.  God sent His One and Only Son as the Promise.  Jesus is Messiah, God’s One and Only Son.  Jesus was given by God to not merely atone (cover over) the sins of people; Jesus willingly paid the price as our human sacrifice to remove all sins from all the people of the world who believe that He did! This sacrificial, once and for all, act of Jesus reconciles (reconnects) all people who believe back to God the One who created them!  How amazing!  How wonderfully compassionate!  How excruciatingly painful… but it was what the world needed most.

God’s people read about Jesus in their meeting places each Sabbath.  They traditionally put an empty chair as the honorary place for “the One who is to come to save us” at the table when celebrating the Sabbath meal, all according to the Laws of Sabbath.  But when The Promise came, the Messiah was not recognized or believed by the leaders.  Reading about Him became “routine” and easy to do but believing and following Jesus as the One Promised seemed impossible.  They were happy with the way life was and did not want to BE different.   

The attitudes of the religious leaders led them to making adamant false statements which revealed their hearts and showed their lack of faith:

• Jesus could not have been the Messiah, for He was poor, disadvantaged from birth, educated from small town leaders from Nazareth “of all places—what good can come from Nazareth?” 
• He followed all the commands of The Law but interpreted the meaning of the Law untraditionally. 
• What was customary in the behaviors of priests, scribes and other teachers of the Law took on a different meaning when the One and Only spoke, related to people—all people—in ways considered despicable in the eyes of those who no longer knew God and had stopped asking what God wanted. 
• They only knew The Law.  In fact, they knew it so well, they created loopholes for themselves as leaders and choke holds on those they lead.

This is why it is imperative that we don’t miss Jesus’ words after healing ten lepers.  The only one who came back to thank and praise Jesus for healing him was an “outsider.”  To solidify this point, Luke adds, “He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.”  Jesus response to the kneeling Samaritan— “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”

Samaritans were thought of as “less than” by the Jews. The Samaritans didn’t enjoy being around Jewish people either because of previous long-standing feuds.  Each stayed in their own territories, hating each other, and despising each other’s ways of living life. 

Then Jesus comes with words and actions that are so counter culture, it blows the minds and rocks the boats of the “chosen”—unsettling all that is customary and traditional to God’s people and to those within hearing distance.  Jesus is hardpressed to do the will of His Father, God, “to seek and to save the lost.  Jesus knows all are lost. As He walks from town to town, He sees all are in need of salvation.  Jesus knows that He is the way to new life that never ends with God, accompanied by a new way to think, speak, and behave, that is more like God. 

Yes, Jesus, The Messiah, is all this and more—He is Way back to God.  He is Truth whether we choose to believe Him or not—Truth has come to save us from all that is false.  He is Life eternal for all who lose their agendas and follow His plan.  He is for all who decide to believe and want to be with Him.  He is for all who hear and faithfully follow where He leads.  Joy overflows from a grateful heart who knows what God has done in and through a seeking soul.  These are the ones who stop, turn and run to Jesus with thanksgiving overflowing from their hearts.

The One who couldn’t thank Jesus enough knew the joy of salvation.

The One saved knew Jesus did what he could not have done for himself.  We also can’t save ourselves—only Jesus saves us and reconnects us to God in a relationship that is forever!  God is the One who loves to pour out His blessings of spiritual restoration and healing that brings health to our being.  He loves to work within us, developing the fruits of His character that will soon rise up in our transformed behaviors because of this relationship! 

And that’s not all!  Jesus saves us from an unbelieving world led by His enemy who attempts to distract, deceive, with thoughts to destroy us with his perpetual lying and scheming.  But if we follow Jesus with every part of our being, we overcome.  Jesus promised.  Jesus is The Promise.  So, we must follow Jesus realizing that Jesus does not follow us.  We pick up HIS cross of sacrifice, not one of our own creation.  We lay down our ways for His way of living.

And because we are human and weak, we must do this daily—

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2

Be the one who stops suddenly to turn, look up, and give thanks to God because of all He has done and is doing.  Be the one who falls at the feet of Jesus in humble praise and gratitude for a healing and restoration of heart, mind, body, and soul.  Be the one who follows Jesus.  Be the one who asks for His will be done in every detail of life.  Be the one whose praise is ever on our lips with behaviors so gracious that others want to know why…and then be the one to tell them about the One who saved us and gave us what we needed most—Jesus!

Lord,

Thank you for all these thoughts that teach us who you are and how you want us to live.  I love you with all my heart, mind, and soul.  Continue to cleanse my heart, keep me focused on gratitude for all you have done, renew my thinking to be more in line with your thinking.  Thank you for restoring the joy of your salvation at work within me.  To you be the glory, honor, and praise forever!

In Jesus Name, Amen