And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.”
And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
(Mark 1:40-42)
The leper longed for release,
From a body ravaged by disease.
He came to Jesus with a plea,
“Set my imprisoned being free.”
Jesus could heal him from a distance,
But the leper needed His presence;
Not only the body but also the soul,
Needed to be made whole.
He touched the leper with His hand;
The disease left at His command.
An act unpleasant by any measure,
But one the leper would treasure.
No longer despised and rejected;
He was unconditionally accepted
By his loving Saviour and Lord,
Son of the Almighty God.
As we move among our neighbours,
In our conversation and our labours;
Grant us Lord, in all circumstances,
The love and compassion of Jesus.
Leong Kwok Thye –
is a member of Kampong Kapor Methodist Church and has been involved in the ministries of Scripture Union, the Bible Study Fellowship and the pastoral care programme of Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) and Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road).