And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Col. 3:15-16
Luke 17:11–19 tells of the time when Jesus healed ten lepers but only one of them returned to show his gratitude. Christ had healed the leper physically—but, much more importantly, our Lord had also healed the leprosy of the sin in his heart. According to Jesus, this man’s faith made him “well” (Luke 17:19). What distinguished this man from the other nine? He met Jesus as his Savior, not just as a healer. As a result, he became a new creature in Christ. And his soul-saving encounter produced in him a heart of thankfulness.
The thankful leper’s conversion illustrates the new-creature expectation that is found in many New Testament letters—the expectation that sinners saved by grace will be filled with gratitude. The larger context of today’s verses is God’s command to believers to “put off the old self with its practices” and “put on the
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