Luke 17: 11-19
There was this world famous painter. In the prime of her career,
she started losing her eyesight. Fearful that she might lose her talent as a
painter, she went to see the best eye surgeon in the world.
After several weeks of delicate surgery and therapy, her eyesight was restored. The painter was so grateful that she decided to show her gratitude by repainting the doctor's office.
Part of her work included painting a gigantic eye on one wall. When she had finished her work, she held a press conference to unveil her latest work of art: the doctor's office.
During the press conference, one reporter noticed the eye on the wall, and asked the doctor, "What was your first reaction upon seeing your newly painted office, especially that large eye on the wall?"
To this, the eye doctor responded, "I said to myself' Thank God I'm not a gastro- entomologist.'"
After several weeks of delicate surgery and therapy, her eyesight was restored. The painter was so grateful that she decided to show her gratitude by repainting the doctor's office.
Part of her work included painting a gigantic eye on one wall. When she had finished her work, she held a press conference to unveil her latest work of art: the doctor's office.
During the press conference, one reporter noticed the eye on the wall, and asked the doctor, "What was your first reaction upon seeing your newly painted office, especially that large eye on the wall?"
To this, the eye doctor responded, "I said to myself' Thank God I'm not a gastro- entomologist.'"
How about another? The patient shook his
doctor’s hand in gratitude and said, “Since we are the best of friends, I would
not want to insult you by offering any payment. But I would like for you to
know that I have mentioned you in my will.”
“That is very kind of you,” said the
doctor emotionally, and then added, “May I see that prescription I just gave
you? I’d like to make a little change…”
Or another? Two friends met in the
street. One looked sad and almost on the verge of tears. The other man said,
“Hey my friend, how come you look like the whole world has caved in?”
The sad fellow said, “Let me tell you.
Three weeks ago, an uncle died and left me 50-thousand dollars.” “That’s not
bad at all…!”
“Hold on, I’m just getting started. Two
weeks ago, a cousin I never knew kicked-the-bucket and left me $ 95,000, and
it’s tax-free to boot.”
Then, last week, my grandfather passed
away and. I inherited a million dollars.”
“So why are you so glum?” “This week –
nothing!”
Wow, I’d like to have a month like that.
Luke
17: 11-19:
On the way to
Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him.
Keeping their distance, they called out,
saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
When he saw them, he said to them, “Go
and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean.
Then one of them, when he saw that he
was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet
and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.
Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made
clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and
give praise to God except this foreigner?”
Then he said to him, “Get up and go on
your way; your faith has made you well.”
I have a
confession to make. My family knows this, and most of you who know me well
probably sense it as well. I have a hard time being the most positive person in
the room at times. This contrasts with my understanding that every day of my
life IS a scene from the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
God has
spoiled me rotten with His blessings. I get to work with His people, I get to
see the many blessings he has given us, I have a wonderful wife, daughter, and
family. I certainly haven’t gone to bed without supper for a long, long time.
Borrowing the
marketing message of the phone company Vonage, God has been “crazy generous to
me!”
What more
could I want? What more could I need then to say that God has made me one of
the “clouds of witnesses” who testify to His love and grace when all around me
I see people living the secular life and sleeping in on Sundays?
What exactly
is Jesus saying in this passage? Jesus has been crazy generous to these ten
lepers. I think it sheds light on one of Christianity’s foundations.
How can we
truly say the
phrase “God loves the sinner, but hates the sin!”
We are taught and told over and over
again that we are called to do the same, “love the sinner, hate sin,” because
God is love.
It is in passages such as this that we
see the fleshing out of this kind of statement. I am convinced that He truly
loves all people even the sinners (as stated in Romans 5: 8 which says, “But
God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died
for us!).
Stop and contemplate that for a minute. Because
God knows everything and if there are people that God knows will never accept
Him as Lord He still offers them the same blessings as those who will!
This is contrasted with other passages.
Hear Psalm 5: 5 (The boastful cannot
stand in Your presence; You hate all evildoers.) and Psalm 11: 5 (The Lord examines the righteous and the
wicked. He hates the lover of violence.) How do we reconcile this?
If we look closely the answer is readily
apparent. The verses from the Book of Psalms are from the Old Testament, before
the cross. It is only from the crazy generous love of the cross do thes
words seem to be contradictory.
In Colossians 1:19-20 Paul wrote:
“For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in (Jesus) and
through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on Earth or
things in Heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross.”
This doesn’t mean everyone will be saved
because of the cross, but that all the sins of mankind were paid for there. You
have to ask for the Grace of Christ yet even if you don’t you still are a child
of God’s creation and receive the benefits of a generous Creator.
Remember, John the Baptist called Jesus,
“The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world” (John 1: 29).
And John wrote these words with
authority:
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes
in him may have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that he gave
His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have
eternal life.
Indeed, God did not send the Son into
the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved
through Him. Those who believe in Him are not condemned: but those who do not
believed are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of
the only Son of God.
And this is the judgment, that the light
has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because
their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to
the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.
But those who do what is true come to
the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have done in God. (John 3:
14-21)
I worked with
a pastor who had married a lady who was from a country he had lived in when his
parents were missionaries. The lady’s skin color was a lot darker than his.
They have two children.
He had a
problem with his congregation accepting his wife and children. I asked him how
he dealt with it. He told me that Jesus had died for his congregation.
I realized
that if each of us could understand that we were all sinners in need of Grace
it would be a good place to start handling our problems and becoming the people
God would like us to become.
Look around
here today – each and everyone us are sinners in need of redemption, or are
receiving it.
Because of
Jesus God has offered us that redemption at no cost other than to acknowledge
our need, confess our sins, and start living each day with Him in our hearts.
It also means learning to do a lot of stuff differently than our human natures
would have us do.
Now isn’t
that “crazy generous?” I think it should make us “crazy thankful!” Amen.
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