Ancient Israel had no answer to the scourge of certain diseases, especially the disease of leprosy. Medical science offered little help in combating this dreaded condition, which kept its victims away from decent society. There was no relief except by divine intervention.

Jesus told the ten lepers: “Go shew yourselves unto the priests”. This was because after a leper was cleansed of the disease, he was to present himself to a priest to be confirmed clean. Now on their way to the priest, they were cleansed.

Overwhelmed by joy at this discovery, one of them turned back and came to Christ to give glory to God. The rest went away with their healing and forgot the Healer. It is good to note that the one who went back was a Samaritan whose nation the Jews regarded as sinful.

The passage teaches us some profound lessons: One, Jesus remains the source of genuine cleansing and perfect healing. Two, believers are under obligation to return thanks to God for all His benefits and blessings. While one leper was grateful for his healing, the others showed no such appreciation. Their ingratitude pictures how many people often forget all that God bestows upon them both spiritually and physically only to continue to ask for more.

How often do you say: ‘Thank you, Jesus’? As it is in the spiritual, so it is in the physical; we must show appreciation for the good people do unto us. An ungrateful “believer” is a blight to the Christian faith. We need to constantly show appreciation to God for His manifold blessings in our lives! Those who fail to appreciate God’s goodness to them or lightly esteem the displayed love of others are not a true representative of the unique identity of Christ who is praise and gratitude personified.