And, Look! A leprous man came up and began doing obeisance to him, saying; ¨Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.¨ Matthew 8:2 (Reference Bible)
Why do we go so often to the scriptures and why do we study the life of Christ so much?
Some people may like to read the stories and take note of the interesting facts, but we gain so much more from the scriptures if we read them expecting to find relevance to us living here today. This is when the Bible becomes the living word of God.
Jesus Himself tried to show us that the instruction found in the Holy Bible was indeed relevant to all people regardless of the age in which we live. This is because the Word of God is in some way like the One who uttered the words or caused them to be written down for us. He is everlasting and can effortlessly touch anyone or anything without boundaries or limitation. Likewise, his words can and do speak to, instruct, comfort and draw us closer regardless of the limitations of times or ages.
So when we read the first few verses of Matthew 8, we see the story of a leprous man approaching Jesus with a plea. He was a man suffering from a terminal illness. A person in those days with that kind of disease would suffer not only a terrible way of slowly dying, but the separation from all their loved ones and society in general. There was no hope of recovery and it was a bleak scene indeed for one who contracted this disease.
What is remarkable with this familiar story is that this man realized that Jesus was not like you and me. He somehow perceived that our Savior had come from another place which ran by another set of rules. When he saw Jesus, he knew that the reality in which we live did not limit Jesus Christ and that if Jesus wished to bend the rules, He could.
It might even comfort us to think that this man possibly guessed at the size of Jesus´ heart too, because somehow he got the courage to approach our Lord and make his request.
Now I am sure there are many wonderful things we could draw from this story to find some instruction today. But what we could consider here is that when you and I are seeking Jesus, we are approaching this familiar figure. Jesus may not be treading the same dusty paths as we are, but Who, and What He is are unchanging.
Therefore we too can have courage to approach Him today, just like the suffering man in the story. Our Savior´s heart is big and it is reaching out to His people. He is not limited to the laws of nature and still can bend the rules as far as He wants to.
Yes we are talking about miracles. Miracles are things that seem impossible for us humans, but for the Lord, they are the normal everyday workings. Whenever and however our God moves, it is sure to be something so remarkable that it will blow our minds.
So take any problem no matter of its size to Jesus. Take the big, terminal problems as well as the small hiccups and bring them to His feet. Let your voice join in with that man of old and say, “Lord, if you want to, You can heal me.”
If you have no physical sickness, perhaps you could still come to Him and ask for healing from the fallen nature we were stricken with since the fall of man. Maybe we could all view ourselves as terminally ill in this light and imitate the man in the story. Let us approach the Lord today and ask in this same manner. Knowing that the Lord can and will heal us if it pleases Him. And for sure it will please the Lord to purge us of the cancerous urge to fight through life without Him.
Then let us all find our healing in Him and for Him,
Amen
Scott W
Searching For Christ 
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