If they did touch him they stood the risk of catching that dreaded disease. The disease that made the hands and feet curl into short nubs and distorted the face into a sickening sight, causing people to pull back in horror. No one wanted that terrible disease, so no one touched a leper.
What the leper wanted most was what he was sure Jesus wouldn’t give him. Oh, how he longed to be healed! Healed so he could be touched by the people he loved. But which did he want more? Touch or healing? Healing or touch? The two seemed the same.
Everyone ran away when he got close. Children screamed, women grabbed their babies, and men pulled back, never taking their eyes off the repulsive sight that the leper had become.
His life was full of pain. The pain of joints that ate themselves, causing his fingers and toes to curl into useless hooks. But even more painful was the horror he saw on the faces of people who looked his way. He had no one to hug or hold, and he never would. His heart burned with the sorrow of endless rejection.
One day he finally got up the courage to do the unthinkable and walked toward a large crowd that he knew included Jesus.
“Jesus, please, will you help me?”
The crowd parted in fear. No one wanted to be near a leper. No one.
The leper struggled to keep his balance while forcing his rotted feet to move toward the Master. If Jesus couldn’t help him, there would be nothing left. His pounding heart scarcely dared to hope.
Jesus stepped forward while the rest of the crowd pulled back. To everyone’s shock and disbelief Jesus drew nearer still, reached out his hand and touched the leper. In a quiet voice Jesus said the unthinkable: “You are clean. Go show yourself to the priest so that he can declare that you are no longer unclean.”
Hope, disbelief, amazement, relief… One emotion tumbled over another as the leper looked down at his now perfect hands. He pulled back his robe to stare at his feet. Once oozing and deformed, the toes now looked perfectly new. The one thing the leper had longed for the most was exactly what Jesus had given. The leper had been touched by the Master’s hand, and his life would never be the same again.
My friend, if you are living a life filled with the pain of rejection, Jesus has what you need. Just like the leper, the one thing you want more than anything else is exactly what Jesus wants to give you. He offers love, hope, and safety for your soul. He wants to give you a deep, abiding peace that can’t be found anywhere else.
“No matter what storm you face, you need to know that God loves you. He has not abandoned you.” Franklin Graham
Jesus has never rejected the humble heart or turned away the sorrowful soul. He has never beaten the badly broken and He will not turn away your broken heart. Just like the leper, if you take one step toward Jesus He will reach out to heal your hurting soul.
If there was a time when you lived in the love of Jesus, but have walked away from Him, I’m here to tell you He wants you back. Just open your heart and tell Him you need Him more than ever. He will fill you with the wonderful knowledge that He loves and cares about all of your life. You will never regret calling out to Him and you will never be the same again.
If you have made an important decision about Jesus today, please contact me through the comment section below. If you don’t want your comment published, simply tell me and I will keep it private. I will pray for you, knowing that God is beginning a wonderful work in your life!
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