What About The Nine?

And
it came to pass as he went through Jerusalem that he passed through
the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain
village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar
off: and they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, master, have
mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show
yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass that as they went,
they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed
turned back and with a loud voice, glorified God, and fell down on
his face at his feet, giving him thanks, and he was a Samaritan. And
Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the
nine? There are not found that returned to give glory unto God, save
this stranger, and he said unto him, arise, go thy way:thy faith hath
made thee whole. (Luke 17:11-19)

This
is not a parable, but the actual account of an event in the life of
Christ. As we consider these ten men, let us consider our own
relationship with God.

Their
first cry was evidence of their own deep feeling of their need. Their
disease had separated them from homes, friends, family, and
everything dear. Their cry was a cry for mercy. They KNEW THEIR
CONDITION AND HAD NO ILLUSIONS ABOUT IT!

Ten
lepers by the wayside

how
sad their mournful cry,

Unclean,
unclean, have mercy!

How
hopeless is their plight.

How
sad their hearts and yearning

for
homes forever gone,

no
fond embrace of loved ones,

forever
all alone!

Ten
lepers without hope or joy,

each
dreary day the same,

until
a spark of hope appears,

they
hear the saviours' name!

They
hear how blind men see again

and
of the lame made whole,

so
now they wait beside the gate,

Ten
lepers with one goal!

To
see the face of Jesus,

to
call upon his name!

If
only he has power

equal
to his fame!

See!
Now he enters in the gate,

their
voices join in prayer,

Jesus,
Master, have mercy on us!

He
turns to face them there.

Go
show yourselves unto the priests.

and
as they turn to go

they
see flesh alive again

that
had been white as snow!

One
man rejoicing, thanks him,

But
how sad comes the line,

Did
I not heal ten lepers?

Where
then are the nine?

I
find these ten a lot like me,

I
like his blessings fine,

then
thank him for one out of ten,

But
what about the nine

What
about his loving care,

and
promises that are mine?

I'll
pause `someday' and thank him;

But
what about the nine?

The
Bible doesn't tell us where the nine went, or what they did, but
human nature is the same now as it was then so it doesn't take too
much imagination to figure out where they might have gone. All we
need do is look around at the many who have claimed to have been
cleansed of their sins by the Lord and see them as they too turn
again to their own ways.

We
see one as he ducks down the alley of pleasure. It has always been
true that natural man loves pleasure more than he loves God. The love
for pleasure has so permeated the ranks of Christianity that the
general idea has become in many quarters, `condemn sin in general,
but name nothing in particular or you'll offend someone.' It is no
wonder that the youth of our nation are sometimes confused on moral
issues or that the world as a whole is confused about where God's
people stand. We need men today who will as Moses, choose to endure
the affliction of God's people rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin
for a little season.

We
see another as he wanders off down the primrose path of a
Namby-Pamby, soft-soap religion which tries to include everything but
stands for nothing. How sad to see one for whom Christ stood such
pain and shame, compromise every teaching of the Scripture rather
than to go to the trouble of learning and standing for the truth!

Then
there's the fellow who turns to race headlong down `Banker's Row'
looking for a fast dollar. To him the treasures of earth are more
important than riches in heaven. He likes to hear of the assurance of
salvation, but he can't apply Christian principles to his life
because they would ruin his business and take up too much time.

Meanwhile,
over in the pleasant park of selfish, self-satisfaction others bask
contentedly and peacefully. Yet others have wound up in the amnesia
ward of God's spiritual hospital, having forgotten that they were
once purged from their old sins.

But
the tenth leper turned back! he realized that he was going away from
the one who had blessed him. He glorified God in a loud voice. He had
something to make a noise about! If you have come to Christ and been
cleansed from your sins, then you too have something about which you
can glorify God! If you have been as one of the nine, why not now
turn back again to Jesus and glorify God through him!

He
fell on his face at the feet of Jesus! What humility here. Yet when
we remember how great a thing has been done for him, how small a
thing it seems that he could only fall at his feet!

If
you know Christ as your saviour, then remember how great a thing he
did for you in delivering your soul from the terrors of death. Turn
back again to him now, humble yourself before him and glorify him as
the Bible teaches you to do. This man did it and received the
commendation of Jesus, and my friend, so can you!

Of
course if you have never come to him for cleansing, then your need is
to do as these men and come into his presence, crying out as they
did, "Jesus,
Master, have mercy on Me!"