“The Lord Is Always Willing To Attend To You!”

“The Lord Is Always Willing To Attend To You!”(Mt.8:1-4).
In past generations in majority cultures lepers have been humiliated and stigmatized as if they caused the disease upon themselves. Biblical Jews treated people with leprosy as outcasts. There was no treatment for leprosy and it was believed that only God could cure it(Cf II Kgs 5:1-14).
It was therefore an action of faith for a leper to come and kneel before Jesus asking to be healed. The leper knew by their tradition that only God could cure leprosy. If he came to Jesus it means he was convinced that Jesus was more than human. That is why he pleaded,“Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
He knew Jesus was able to make him clean, but that was in so far as Jesus was willing to do so. There are many times that people approach us and beg for us to do something for them because they know we are able. But for certain selfish and vengeful spirits we are not willing to do it.
Jesus told the man,“I am willing. Be clean!” The man was cured. Jesus cautioned him not to spread the news but to go show himself “to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony.”
This command of Moses only demonstrates further how lepers were stigmatized because of their sickness. When Jesus healed people with other infirmities and diseases he did not ask them to go show themselves to the priest as in the case of healed lepers.
The big lesson is that take a bold step of faith, kneel before Jesus and put your matter to him, he is willing to be your solution.
Second lesson is that as followers of Jesus we should copy the example of our master. When people come to us with their problems which we are able to solve, we must be willing to solve those problems.
Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for being willing always to do for us what no man can do. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev. Babila Fochang.