When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.

Matthew 8:1-3

 

Leprosy was, and still is, a dreaded disease. Ulcers and decay covered the body. Fingers would curl and gnarl. Blotches of skin became discoloured and stank. Lepers were quarantined, banished to a leper colony.

But lepers did not ask to be this way. It wasn’t their fault they were like this. Nevertheless, they were avoided by all. Friends whom they had loved—those who had been part of their life—now turned away from them. Their lives were severed from all who had once been important to them.

Throughout my emotional problems, especially when rejection set in, I too was avoided, shut out. But Jesus stayed with me. He joined with me in my suffering. Thanks to his presence I was able to keep serving, never letting up.

Thank God for Jesus, my best friend.

In the early morning hours, I spent my time with him. As I read about him in my Bible, I saw him as the real Person he was. I saw him heal the sick. I saw him eat with people no one else wanted anything to do with. I saw how he related to the outcasts of the world—outcasts like the person I had become.

I read how Jesus did not fear touching lepers. Out of love he did what he could to bring healing to those who suffered.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, or if you want to be, you should know this: With him there is comfort and compassion. With him there are no untouchable people, no hopeless cases, no loneliness.

With Jesus, there’s only love.

Can we learn to love as Jesus loved?
Can we learn to understand a sick person’s needs?
Can we learn to see them as people like any other?

marja