on the Mount and was followed by
large crowds down the mountain.
leprous man was so desperate to be
healed he broke all conventions by
being in public in a crowd. Beyond
that, he broke his isolation by ap-
proaching Jesus. The crowd was both
horrified and angry that he would
endanger them by this reckless act.
him--but would He? Though re-
not leave. What would happen next?
touched him" (vs. 3). Didn't Jesus
know He would become unclean if
He touched the man? Didn't Jesus
know He could be infected by the
man's disease? Jesus said, "I am
Jesus cleansed the leper, removing
all evidence of his disease. Jesus was
not in any way defiled by His contact
with the man, but His redeeming
not come to Christ. There is no sin
that is beyond His forgiveness, no
life beyond His redemption, because
every single one of us has been dis-
eased and unclean. Yet in Christ, we
have been cleansed.
opened her home to provide foster
brought scores of them into her little
house for love and care. But one
day a little boy was brought to her
little more than a walking skeleton,
to toe. He could not stand to have
stantly crying and whining. He could
not get along with the other children
and gave the woman fits as she tried
to help him. The woman continued to
care for him, all the while resenting
him for the burden he was. Despite
her efforts, sometimes her anger and
disgust came through.
him in her lap. They both drifted off
to sleep. She dreamt that she had
little boy. She looked up and saw the
Lord. But instead of praise for her
selflessness, He said, "I loved you
love this little boy who suffers for the
a start and when she did, the little
boy did too. He began to cry and in-
stinctively she bent over and kissed
him. He stopped and then looked up
at her pleading, "Do it again. Please
kiss me again." From that time on
she loved the child. He healed, grew
stronger and found the joy of his sto-
len childhood.
than any stain of sin. Believe that
for yourself. Believe that for those