In the Bible, the Hebrew word for conversion is shub, which means “to turn” or “to return,” and the Greek word is metanoia, which means “to turn around.”
In the case of the leper Jesus healed, there was clearly a return, in that he could now go back to his family and community, but there was also a turning around.
To be converted means to have the direction of one’s life shifted, so that it no longer points toward self, but points toward God.
Interestingly, that’s exactly what happened to this man. He stepped off the “woe is me” path and onto the “Jesus is great” road.
