I got a really bad haircut today. For reasons unknown to me my regular barber wasn’t open today so I went just down the street to a new place. I should have known better. The place opened just a month ago and didn’t look overly busy. Going to a barber is like going to a diner. Don’t go if you never see any cars parked outside. Maybe going to a church is like that. Go where the parking lot is full. Something is happening inside.
One of my favorite stories about Jesus is found in Matthew 8. A man with leprosy was looking for Jesus. Jesus wasn’t too hard to find. The leper just went where the crowd was. Getting to Jesus would have been a problem for some but not for a leper. As he came near the people were repulsed by his appearance and smell. Everyone got out of his way lest they be touched by him. “He knelt before Jesus and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.”
What I love about this story is that Jesus touched him prior to taking away the disease. That is so much like Jesus. No matter what our problems, our sins, our mistakes, our lousy past, Jesus is willing to first touch us and make us clean.
The crowds aren’t always right. To the contrary history teaches us the crowds are often wrong. But the crowds that found Jesus were very right. The man’s leprosy was gone never to grow back. Fortunately for me, my hair will grow back. It’s a great life.
Written by Roger Bothwell on January 23, 2013
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org