Thought of the Day !!

In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he fell to the ground, face down in the dust, begging to be healed. "Lord," he said, "if you want to, you can make me well again."

Jesus reached out and touched the man. "I want to," he said. "Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
Luke 5:12-13 (NLT)

Lepers were the lowest form of social outcasts in Jewish society in Jesus' day. They were considered contagious and spiritually unclean. They were ordered to walk around with a bell around their neck to announce their presence. If a person was a leper, then it was thought that God was punishing this person either for his/her sins or the sins of the parents. And so nobody wanted to have anything to do with them.

Can you imagine how horrible it would have been back then to be a leper...a social outcast. Can you imagine how horrible it is today to live in the same way. Many people who have AID's are looked down upon in much the same way. Even though divorce is highly accepted in our society today, in some cases and some churches you may still be an outcast if you have been divorced.

Some are homosexual. Some have psychiatric problems. Some have obvious physical deformities. And many today live in our society as outcasts in people's eyes.

Jesus came to heal the sick. He called us to be like him...to love like him. When we claim to be Christians, do we not claim to be Christ-like? If so, pay close attention to what he did in this passage. If we're not careful, we can miss it. He did not heal the leper before he touched him. He got his hands dirty, and then he healed him.

We must not be afraid to get our hands dirty. When we touch, talk to or just listen to those who are in need of it most (those whom others are not willing to) we become the hands and feet of Jesus. And this shows people what Jesus showed the leper - that no matter what they have done, where they've been or who they are, they are of worth to God.

May we be the hands and feet of Jesus today and for evermore. If you're ever wondering if that is the case in your life, just look at those hands and feet. Are they dirty?

In the love of Christ,
greg