Touch Me Lord!

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy (Matthew 8:3, NIV).

In my childhood years, I suffered from eczema which left my arms and legs in a terrible, painful rash. At its worse, the skin would split open and bleed. My sister also suffered from this ailment. Sometimes we had to wear shirts with long sleeves and pants on a hot summer day. Winters were the worse season as our skin was heavily layered to keep warm and hot baths only made the condition worsen. Daily we coated ourselves with creams and took prescribed medication.

Over the years, my skin cleared up but my sister saw little improvement.

But the emotional scars of the disease even though faded, is a reminder of the uncomfortable stares and remarks others whispered which they thought I didn't hear. Worse was to see my sister in physical pain but as a growing woman, limited to what she could wear and interact with others, was difficult as she would cry and plead for healing. She read the passage of Naaman dipping in the muddy Jordan seven times until his flesh became like that of a child (2 Kings 5:14).

Perhaps the deepest pain was the desire to be touched, embraced. I didn't just feel awful but felt ugly, someone to be avoided because of the condition that made me a pitiful sight. With the skin condition, sometimes came a terrible smell from dead skin cells.

You may not have a skin condition or some other disease that makes others stare or cause whispers, but there are things in our heart that make us feel untouchable - if they only knew. But Jesus did not just heal the leaper by a word, but it says He reached out His hand and touched the man.

Jesus will touch you, if you let Him. It makes no difference to Him your condition. He will not be corrupted or changed by your failures or illness rather His touch will make you whole. For those who had suffered from abuse, disease or sin, God loves you not just to speak to you from a distance. No, it's not enough for Him, but he desires to reach out His hand to touch you - and it's touch is only love.