Bible Reading: Luke 5:12-16
“All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37)
Have you ever seen a person with leprosy? Very sick, they grow gross lesions on their arms, legs and faces. Then, their toes and fingers start to deform, and eventually, a loss of the nervous system makes them liable to severe infections and injuries which they cannot feel.
Now there was a man who came to Jesus, and he was full of leprosy. From head to toe, his leprosy had gone so severe that he was described as “full of it”. Take a look at your heart. We are spiritual lepers. From head to toe, we are severely covered in sin. We’ve got lesions of pride deforming our faces, boils of worldliness brewing the black pus of malice, bitterness, foul talk, sexual immorality, envy, drunkenness, impurity. Day by day, we are getting sicker, enslaving ourselves to the bacteria of idolatry.
What must we do? The leper fell on his face and begged Jesus, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean”. Have we sought Jesus and humbled ourselves before HIm? Have we confessed our sins and fallen before Him, begging Him for forgiveness in prayer? Have we finally realised that nothing in this world apart from God can save us from the pit of despair?
See our compassionate and loving God! Jesus stretched out His hand for the leper. For the sinner, Jesus humbled Himself, became man, and died on the cross. Now, He reaches out to the lost. He says to sinners, “be clean”. Jesus is mighty to save. He is sufficient and willing to forgive. Luke 5:32 says, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance”. He is waiting for us sinners to return to Him.
See the lepers response. One who is forgiven does not go about boasting that they have been healed. As Jesus called the leper to “tell no one”, Jesus calls us to humbly recognise that we have no basis to boast about our healing. It is a miracle, a grace from God. Only Him alone deserves the glory. Also, we must be very thankful in awe and reverence. Jesus sent the leper to make offerings and show himself to the priest. If we have been cleansed, oh how we ought to turn from our evils and offer our lives as living sacrifices to God. We ought to be thankful not only in word but also in deed. May we surrender this one life, our desires, will, future, and every day into His loving hands to be used and consumed as His servants forever.
Lord, forgive us our sins which are many and heavy. If You will, You can make us clean. Give us victory over our sins which continue to entangle us to this day. Teach us to be humble and live righteously in response to the grace You have given us. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
