So why are we sitting around, waiting for a confirmation to go and love the poor? Whether it is in another country or our next door neighbor. We have to stop waiting for that "confirmation" from Jesus because HE HAS ALREADY TOLD US TO DO IT. He would have put it His written word if He wanted us to wait til a specific time to go or to move or to ask if it was ok.
He didn't say, pray about coming and following me- He said COME follow me and IMMEDIATELY they left their nets and followed Him. It was a command. It was His authority.
Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all the unfortunate.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
Not many of you know this, but for the past 2 years, every time that I would read anything in the Bible about leprosy, whether in the old or new testament, it became very difficult to breathe. Now if I could have this reaction for many other things, I would explode, but Holy Spirit was just slowly whispering, "this is how much I love them. this is how much I love them. this is how much I love. I made them for love, I made them to love, so that they can love freely, without hesitation, AND be loved."
I'm crying as I write this, because there have been few times that I have felt this close to Jesus' heart, as when I speak about this subject. The girls on staff here know that anytime this comes up it is highly likely I will cry. Whether it is tears of hurt and pain or tears of joy to know that Jesus loves to kiss their hands, to touch their wounds, the place that has casted them out, the place that causes the most pain to their whole body- He touches.
They are "untouchable". And we are people who desire, who NEED touch. Why do you think that when Jesus made us that He made us with His own hands. His own hands, that touched us. It is so intimate. To go through your life and not be touched, to be forbidden to be touched, to be ripped away from your family, your community, and not even be allowed to go into the holy places to worship- to be stripped of being human. Labeled as a disease. That when you go anywhere, you have to yell, "UNCLEAN. UNCLEAN. UNCLEAN!" You go through life without touch.
Imagine if we had to, because of all of our sin, worn on our sleeves, yell, "unclean" when we entered the church, with our wounds exposed...
Now when I first began to research leprosy, I literally didn't even think that it still existed today, or if it did, it was very uncommon.
you can click this picture and make it bigger to read the stats about leprosy. or click here to read the FAQ about leprosy.
Now we take away all the statistics and all the lalala about it and we look to Jesus. He will tell us what He thinks of them, let us feel what He feels for them- and that is what changes hearts, truly transforms our hearts.
Last week my heart was transformed because at Calvary (the church I go to here) we are going through Mark and we talked about Mark 1:40-45. Take a few minutes, go there, and read it.
See now why I was?
That whole service Holy Spirit was right there next to me, transforming my heart. It was beautiful, the essence and power of His presence was so sweet, not overwhelming, but sweet. His love for them was flowing through Bryan's words as he began to say things in a way that was undeniably Jesus. The leper came begging to Jesus, which one- was completely breaking every cultural norm, especially him being around people and coming that close to Jesus when he wasn't even allowed in the temples. Jesus, a clean, reaches out and TOUCHES an unclean, and instead of Jesus becoming unclean, he makes the man clean. Huh. We think so many times that us as "clean", we can't touch unclean, for fear of becoming unclean- when Jesus set the complete opposite example. And isn't that what we do so many times? Shy away. Then Jesus gave this man what he needed the most: touch. Touch was the healing that transformed him.
This man knew that power of Jesus, because He asked Jesus to make him clean. He was dying and what did he desire? Touch. The transforming touch of Jesus.
This disease of leprosy, makes you desensitized. You lose feeling in parts of your body, so that when you do something small like cut yourself, get a little burn, you can't feel it, causing infection- and this is what causes the limbs and parts of your body to fall off. So he came to Jesus to feel again.
This humble man, says. "If You will, make me clean."
And how desensitized have we become?
He risked his life in a social setting, people yelling and being terrified just as the sight of him and then humbly comes before the King saying...if You will.
I could go on and on and on but something to chew on for the next few days. Jesus touched you, reached out His hand to you and said, moved with compassion and pity- "I do choose, BE MADE CLEAN."
"Let us become more aware of Your presence, let us experience the glory of Your goodness!"
Here are some more sites to read on (if you want more, please ask me):
Leprosy Mission International
American Leprosy Mission
And if you like stories, read these, or these.
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