✨ ✨ “And Jesus Said, ‘I Want To!’”
✨ Those Who Walk With Jesus — ✨
“And Jesus Said, ‘I Want To!’”
📝 Their Message (Summary)
Matthew 8 gives us one of the most stunning moments in the Gospels. A leper—a man despised, untouchable, and unclean—falls before Jesus and pleads, “Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.” And Jesus does the unthinkable. He touches him and says, “I want to! Be clean.”
This was scandalous in Jewish culture. No rabbi would risk touching a leper. But Jesus wasn’t afraid of contamination—His holiness was stronger than their shame. In one touch, the man was healed, and the world saw the reckless mercy of God.
John Eldredge describes it like this:
“Jesus has a wild freedom, born out of a profound holiness. The more you fall in love with His genuine goodness, the more you detest the counterfeit of false piety and shallow morality. He is the most remarkable person I’ve ever known.”
The post then contrasts that freedom with how we often portray God in religion. In a 2017 Face to Face broadcast, a young woman asked how to pray more conversationally with God. Elder Eyring’s answer suggested caution—“God is too high above us… prayer is not really a conversation.” But the writer testifies that this has not been their experience of Jesus.
Jesus is not distant. He is the Friend of sinners. The One who always sits with the shunned, the broken, the ones carrying baggage. He is the One who looks us in the eye and says, “I want to!”
When Jesus died, the temple veil was ripped top to bottom—not by man, but by God Himself. He tore down the barrier between us and His presence. Yet, much of modern religion spends its time stitching the veil back up—teaching that God is too holy, too far, too unapproachable. But the torn curtain declares forever: Come close. Speak freely. Walk with Me.
🔥 My Reflection
This post breathes freedom. It cuts through the fear-based reverence that so many churches impose and reveals the raw, approachable, scandalous love of Jesus. The leper’s story is our story—we are unclean, and He still touches us.
The line that grips me: “So why do we insist on stitching it back up?” Religion loves sewing lessons, but Jesus ripped the veil once for all. The cross was His shout: “I want to!”
This is also a call to honest, conversational prayer. Not stiff formulas, not mechanical words, but the messy, tear-stained, laughter-filled conversations of a child with their Father and a sinner with their Friend.
🕊️ The Invitation
Dare to believe that Jesus wants to heal your deepest wounds.
Stop sewing the veil back together. Walk through it. Enter boldly. (Hebrews 4:16)
Pray as if you were sitting across the table from your closest friend. Because you are.
📖 Scriptures to Ponder
“I want to! Be clean.” — Matthew 8:3
“The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” — Matthew 27:51
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy.” — Hebrews 4:16
🔗 Walking with Jesus — A Family’s Story
This is part of a series sharing the six-year testimony of a family walking daily with Jesus.
Previous: Post #54 — “It Is Written…”
Next: Post #56 — (coming soon)
Comments