In Luke 17 Jesus heals a group of 10 people from leprosy. Of the 10, only 1 returns to thank Him. The other 9 were never heard from again.

If this were to happen in a modern evangelical church, if 90% of the people healed/touched by God were to not follow through by giving glory to God, many people would denounce this as a false miracle because the results were not demonstrated in long-lasting life change.

The truth is, our response to the power of God does not validate or invalidate the work of God. Even though those 9 ex-lepers did not thank Jesus or glorify God, the work that Jesus did in their lives was still real. It's not real just when people respond correctly. It's real if Jesus did it.

What is truly revealed in this story is 1) Jesus' extreme willingness to heal and restore even ungrateful people, and 2) Humanity's absolute lack of desire to demonstrate thankfulness to God by giving Him glory.

Those two principles can help us navigate and process the fact that some people can witness and participate in powerful encounters with God and still remain unchanged and ungrateful. It doesn't mean that what they experienced isn't real. It means that Jesus will touch even ungrateful people and that we have a responsibility to respond to God in gratefulness.