Jesus Heals the Ten Lepers: Be the One Who Says Thank You

Hey, Carpool Crew. It's Pastor Justin and I hope you're having a great start to your day. It's Friday, which means the weekend is here. It's gonna be a good one. I know it. Listen to this from Luke 17:15. "Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back, praising God with a loud voice." Okay, picture this. Jesus is walking into a small village. Ten guys come out to meet him, and these guys had to stand way back, far away, because they had a skin disease called leprosy. We've talked about leprosy before, right? Everyone avoids them. They feel pretty lonely, and it is gross. It's itchy and oozy. Now, here's another quick fact. Back then, if you had leprosy, you couldn't live with your family. You couldn't go into town. People did stay far away from you. So these ten guys stand at a distance and yell, "Jesus, Jesus, have mercy on us." Jesus says, "Go show yourselves to the priests." And that was the way they could prove they were healed. So they start walking, and as they go, their skin starts healing right there on the road while they're walking. Now, picture that. You're walking, you look at your hands, you look at your arms, you look at your legs. It's totally healed. You'd probably scream with joy. You'd probably run home and hug your family. Now here's the big moment. That's basically what nine of them did. But one guy, just one, stops. He turns around and runs back and falls at the feet of Jesus and says, "Thank you." One out of ten. And Jesus actually asks, "Where are the other nine?" Because gratitude matters. It matters to say thank you. See, if Jesus were sitting with us right now, he might tell you, "When something good happens, don't just keep going. Stop. Notice it. Tell me thanks. I see it every time." Now, think about your day for a second. You probably already had a bunch of stuff happen to you. Someone made you breakfast. Someone helped pack your backpack. Someone is driving you to school right now. What's up, Mom or Dad, or Grandma or Grandpa or Papa or big sibling, whoever's driving. Or you're sitting around the table getting ready for homeschool. Hey, listen, you woke up with a roof over your head. You probably woke up in a bed. You have clothes to wear. You have breakfast to eat. It's easy to skip past all that. It's easy to be one of the nine. But Jesus invites you to be the one, the one who shows gratitude, the one that says thank you. So how could this impact your weekend and next week? Maybe first, before you get out of the car, look at whoever drove you and say, "Thanks for driving me." A simple thank you goes a long way. And do it out loud. Don't do it in a wave or in a look. Do it with your words. Second, every night at dinner, share one thing from the day you're thankful for. You can try it this weekend. Every dinner this weekend, share one thing that you're thankful for. And third, write a quick thank you note to one person who helped you this week. Maybe it was a teacher or a coach or a friend or a grandparent, and hand it to them when you see them next week. So let's go back to the one thing I wanted you to remember. Stop and say thank you out loud. Remember, Carpool Crew, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And this weekend, parents, on Carpooling with Jesus, we've got two episodes your kids are really gonna love. Saturday, we're talking about why people matter more than stuff, and how greed can sneak up on us without noticing. And Sunday, we're hearing about Matthew getting called by Jesus, and what it looks like to say yes right away. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For less than the cost of a cup of coffee a month, you are in. You could be a subscriber. I hope you consider it. Now, before you go, here's a question to talk about together. What is one thing you can thank God for today? I'll see you tomorrow or Monday on Carpooling with Jesus.