Sun 22 Oct

Most Christians have favourite Bible verses, Scriptures, or characters. The most well known one is John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

Of course there are many Bible verses and characters. Perhaps your favourite character is Epaphras, a little known saint who faithfully served in prayer for the churches. 

One of my favourite scripture incidents takes place in Luke 5. Jesus encounters a man with leprosy. According to Jewish law leprosy made one unclean. As you read this incident, what would be the leper’s need at the time he met Jesus. You might say there were several needs. 

One of the many needs would have been to be restored. He is a leper. He is shunned by society. No one would give him the time of day. One thing he would crave is a simple human touch. To let him know we care about you. Jesus could have spoke a word to restore him to full health. But, no, what did Jesus do? Jesus did something unthinkable. With great mercy and compassion, Jesus reached out and touched a leper – a human touch craved by the leper. Someone shunned by society was welcomed by Jesus with a touch. Who are shunned today? Who are in need of a human touch? Who can you welcome with a word or a touch?