Giving

“He looked at them and said, ‘Go show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, ‘Praise God!’ He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him for what He had done. This man was a Samaritan.” (Luke 17:14-16 NLT)

Why do think Jesus healed those lepers? Did they deserve to be healed? Were they better than all the other lepers? My sense is, He healed them because they asked. Why did they ask? Because they were in desperate need? Was it because of their great love for Jesus? No, though they likely didn’t realize it, it was because of His great love for them! His presence invites us.

Everything God does flows from love. Whenever He gives anything to anyone it’s because it emanates from His loving heart. What does that have to do with us? EVERYTHING! If we profess love for and devotion to the Lord Jesus, everything we do, say, or think should be bathed in love. Obviously, we’re works in progress, so that doesn’t always happen, but when the Lord prompts us to give, whether a kind word or an extravagant gift, if it doesn’t originate from our love for the Lord and for the one to whom we’re offering the gift, it will be given in vain.

Amy Carmichael understood this as she wrote: “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.” It’s obvious from the results of the other nine lepers’ behavior that you can receive without loving, but you can’t love without giving. What did the Samaritan leper give? He gave himself in worship of the One who gave healing to him.

Isn’t that, at its core, what salvation is all about? When we run back to the Savior to be saved, aren’t we giving ourselves to the One who first gave Himself on our behalf on the Cross? Responding with love for the One who first loved us? As believers in and followers of the Lord Jesus anything we give is evidence of our love for and devotion to Him, thus, should not be given with any expectation of anything in return.

The Lord knew the nine Jewish lepers wouldn’t appreciate His efforts on their behalf. But He healed them anyway. Like many of us, they felt deserving, probably angry with God for allowing them to get leprosy in the first place. Why should they be grateful for something they deserved from the beginning? Why do you think those ungrateful Jews would spend any time with a leper? Because He was a fellow leper. Do you think they gave him the time of day after they were all healed?

Obviously, not! Noone missed him when he returned to Jesus. What’s the lesson for us? The two most striking truths that I see are first, to always attribute every gift we receive as a gift from God who deserves our eternal worship. Regardless of its size or origin, give God thanks and honor for it. But, secondly, always give to glorify and honor the Lord with no expectation of credit or recognition.

We love because He first loved us and we give sacrificially to others because He first gave sacrificially to us. Do they always deserve it? Did we? The other piece of this that we’re not given clear evidence in Scripture, but my sense is that that Samaritan leper returned to his still leprous buddies to tell them about the Healer who set him free. Maybe that should be our attitude as well, as we return to our “leprous,” lost friends and loved ones to give to them what the Lord so freely gave to us when He saved and healed us.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊