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In Jesus’ day, lepers were complete outcasts. Lepers were forced to live outside of the city walls to keep other people in the community from getting sick. That meant they had to leave their jobs, homes, and families. Talk about a sad, lonely life! While Jesus was on Earth, He healed lepers (and others!) any time they asked. Each time He healed a leper, Jesus would always say the same thing: “Go, show yourself to the priest…” (Matthew 8:4 NIV). Why did Jesus command healed lepers to see the priest? Was His healing not complete? Of course, Jesus completely healed the lepers, but the priests were the gatekeepers back to regular life—back to community. Once a priest declared a former leper “clean,” they could return to their families, jobs, and lives. For someone forced to the outside, Jesus’ healing gave them a way to get a priest’s statement of cleanliness that carried a beautiful implication: “Go home.”

Our God loves community. He loves togetherness and closeness. He loves belonging, inclusion, and home. If you have a “home,” cherish it. Nurture it. Invite people into it. If you don’t, ask God to help you find it. Pray that God will send you a place to belong.