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The One Who Came Back: Summary

This Thanksgiving, as 82 million Americans travel to celebrate with family, we can learn a profound lesson about gratitude from an ancient holiday journey recorded in Luke 17:11-19.

Just as modern travelers often go out of their way to avoid certain routes, first-century Jews would add two extra days and 23 miles to their journey from Galilee to Jerusalem just to avoid passing through Samaria. The deep hatred between Jews and Samaritans made them willing to exhaust themselves rather than have any contact with people they considered enemies.

On Jesus' final journey to Jerusalem—the trip that would lead to His crucifixion—He traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. There, ten lepers cried out to Him for healing. Jesus instructed them to show themselves to the priests, and as they obeyed, they were miraculously healed. All ten received complete restoration from their disease and social isolation.

But only one returned to thank Jesus—and surprisingly, he was a Samaritan, the very person most Jews would have despised and expected nothing from. Jesus' disappointed question hangs in the air: "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?"

This grateful Samaritan teaches us three essential characteristics of true thanksgiving:

First, be humble. The Samaritan threw himself at Jesus' feet, recognizing he didn't deserve this healing. Perhaps the other nine felt entitled—after all, they were God's chosen people. But when we think we deserve God's blessings, we miss the point entirely. Everything we have is grace, not something we've earned through our service, giving, or faithfulness.

Second, give thanks quickly. The Samaritan couldn't wait to express his gratitude. We often tell ourselves we'll thank God later, but life gets busy and we forget. We're quick to ask God for help when desperate, but slow to thank Him when He delivers. Make it a habit to thank God immediately—before you rationalize the blessing away, before someone convinces you it was just luck, before you forget it was His hand at work.

Third, thank God loudly. This man praised God with a loud voice, making his gratitude public. We're often bold in our requests but whisper our thanks. Are you marked as a grateful person? Does the world know how thankful you are to God, or do you keep your thanksgiving private and hidden?

But the story's true power lies deeper than gratitude lessons. Jesus told the Samaritan, "Your faith has made you well"—using a word that means "saved." The other nine got healing and returned to normal life. This one man got something more: he got Jesus. He got salvation. He got eternal life.

Jesus doesn't just heal to fix problems—He heals as an invitation to relationship. The real gift isn't the blessing itself but the Source of the blessing. The real treasure isn't what God gives us—it's God Himself.

This Thanksgiving, may we know the Blesser, not just the blessings. Because at the end of the day, our greatest reason for gratitude isn't what God has done for us, but who God is to us: our Savior, our Lord, our greatest blessing.