It is funny to hear how Jesus responds to some of the questions He's asked. At the end of Luke 17, after He'd just described the times in which He'd return, they asked Him, "Where, Lord?" And He replied, "Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather."
That is so odd.
The heading in this Bible has the phrase: "Sin, Faith, Duty." This chapter also has the story of ten lepors who were healed. One of them stopped as soon as he realized he was being healed and rushed back to praise God and throw himself at Jesus' feet. Jesus asked out loud, "Weren't there ten of you? Where are the other nine? Your faith has made you well. Rise and go." I sure want to be that person, even though he was a "stranger," a samaritan, who thanks God along the way for the miracles big and small.
I also enjoy the teaching Jesus does in this chapter about servanthood. He basically says, "A servant should understand His place and not expect brownie points for his/her good deeds." This is especially a good thing when God works through us. We should humbly understand that it was just God working through His servant and we aren't to become a celebrity just because God used us. Praise is good and a building up thing, but if we are on the underside of an employee/employer relationship, not getting the praise for a job well done shouldn't make us resentful. We are just doing our job.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at October 27, 2005 09:14 AM