The Leper Saw Jesus
Let’s take a look at what this leprous man did to receive the cleansing that Jesus had for him. To begin with, he saw Jesus. We read this in verse 12, which says "When he saw Jesus".
That sounds like a throwaway phrase. Of course he saw Jesus, you're probably saying. But friends I have come to notice that many people miss Him. Many people don't see Him when He's right here!
Seeing Jesus Clearly
There's a line in Mary Poppins, where she says to the little kids "sometimes a person who we love, through no fault of his own, can't see past the end of his nose." The little girl says "past the end of his nose??" in bewilderment.
And yet it's true isn't it? Some people can't see what's right in front of them. If you watch sitcoms, a favourite plotline that gets repeated on almost every sitcom is one character falling in love with another, but the other just doesn't see it. And we the viewers watch and think "it's so obvious!" But the character who is the object of the other's affection is oblivious to it, and so you spend many episodes waiting and waiting for this person to see the other person and 'twig' that the person feels something for them.
Seeking Jesus Daily
Isn't this like our relationship with God? God in a sense, pines after His beloved, and we're just oblivious. We don't even see Him.
I can picture this leprous man wondering around town. For years, nobody came close to him. Everywhere he went, people scattered. But maybe he heard at a distance, people raving about this Jesus. Maybe he heard that there was a man who could heal him of this terrible affliction. And so maybe everywhere he went he started keeping an eye out, thinking "if I see this Jesus, I'm gonna run to Him!"
Friends, are you looking for Jesus? Are you seeking Him? Or are you, maybe, missing Him, even though He's right in front of you?
Finding Life in Him
Over and over in the Old Testament, God's people would stop looking for Him. They would turn and run to other things, and God would beg them, "seek Me again. Look for Me."
Look at this word from God to His people in the book of Amos. "This is what the LORD says to Israel: "Seek Me and live; do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing." Seek the LORD and live." (Amos 5:4-6)
Seek God. Seek Jesus. Don't go seeking change from anybody else, it will all come to nothing. Seek the LORD, and live!
Jesus is right there with you right. Do you see Him?
