A Disciple's Journal (2)

RISK TAKERS OF CHRIST

After a long day of imparting lessons to the large crowds who were sitting at the mountainside, Jesus was very exhausted and decided to come down from the mountainside. Yet, the crowds were not satisfied and wanted more from him. They followed him in hope that he will stop somewhere to impart more lessons to them. Just as the people were moving down from the mountainside, a man in ragged clothes appeared right in front of Jesus and knelt before him saying, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

The disciples, who were nearest to Jesus, noticed the sores on the man's body and knew immediately that he was a leper. Quickly but secretly, they moved a few steps back in order to keep a safe distance from the leper. At this moment, the disciples were anticipating Jesus' response towards this leper. "Surely our Lord is not going to touch him, he should know better that leprosy is contagious," thought one of the disciples. Many other disciples were hoping that Jesus would drive him away, for his presence posed a threat to their health.

To their astonishment, Jesus took a few steps towards the leper. At this moment, the disciples became very anxious and was anticipating the worst. "Goodness, does our master know what he is doing? He is here to save us and establish our kingdom, what will happen to us if he is affected by the germs?" thought a disciple, who nevertheless was not bold enough to shout out his thought. At that moment, Jesus touched the man and said with compassion, "I am willing, be clean!" Immediately, the man was healed of his leprosy...

If we were there with Jesus, being one of the twelve disciples, what would be going through our mind at that point? What would be our response? More than often, we will choose to observe from a safe distance lest we get infected. We can preach, we can pray, we can even donate money to people such as these, but the ultimate challenge is this: Are we willing to go to them and live among them. It is neither the money nor the prayer that matters the most to them, it is our presence, our company that truly matters. For it is through us that they may have the opportunity to see Christ and his love in a visible form.

Today, I received a news that my Pakistani friend (who is staying in Port Dickson, Malaysia) has been suffering from chicken pox for more than 1 week. I decided to give him a call and told him that I was coming to visit him. Yet, in my heart, I was worrying for myself. Many thoughts came to my mind: "What if I get infected by the germs (since I have not caught this disease before)?", "If he wants to shake my hand, how am I going to say "no" in a polite way?", "If I get infected, how am I going to finish my assignments?"etc.

In spite of the struggle I was going through, I knew that opportunities such as these are hard to come by, for they are placed by God in our lives to challenge and refine the depth of our love for others. Perhaps we have been singing and claiming carelessly to God of how much we love him and our fellow human beings; for when the true test comes, we often retreat.

Furthermore, I thought about what Jesus would have done if he was in my situation. Surely he would care less for himself and would have gone to visit and pray for this friend in spite of the risk involved. With Jesus in mind, I chose not to let my worries overwhelmed me and I went. I prayed for him, talked to him and he (accidentally) touched me as well. But in my mind, I knew that I have done the right thing, for my Lord would have done the same thing if he was me. Even if I will eventually catch chicken pox after this visit, I will not regret of my decision.

After all, to be like Christ is to take risk, isn't it?