Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Unclean!

Leviticus 13:45 Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, "Unclean! Unclean!"
According to levitical law, a person with leprosy was condemned to be an outcast not only by the world but by all his or her friends and family, never to be touched or included in any family or social activity. They were outcasts from the temple as well...never able to go and worship their God as was commanded. Wherever they went they were under the levitical law and had to cry out "Unclean!" as a warning to all. There was no way to hide it or disguise it. People would look upon them with fear, disgust and loathing. How heartbreaking.....

Jesus never shied away from anyone. He loved spending time with those others thought of as outcasts, sinners or those who were labeled "unclean." Jesus loved them, spent time with them, touched them and taught them. But He never turned His back on them.

Luke 5:12-13 And it happened when He [Jesus] was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."
Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him.


As a matter of fact, these people where his favorite people to hang out with and He received a lot of condemnation for it from the Pharisees, Sadducees and religious leaders.

Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."

Jesus saw beyond the illness, the sin and the ugliness. He loved them and offered Himself to them through His love, His touch, His healing and His forgiveness. He was never too busy, too freaked out by what He saw, too disgusted by the sins that held them captive to give of Himself.

Who are the "Unclean" in our society today? The addict? The sex offender? The thief? The adulterer? The murderer? They are no longer under the obligation to cry out "Unclean!" yet don't we still treat them in the same manner as those in biblical times? If the "unclean" walk into our church, do we go to the opposite side of the church? Do we ignore them, shun them, or turn up our noses at them?

What if we put on biblical glasses and saw them through the eyes of our Savior Jesus? How different would they look? How would we minister to them? Would we love them with the love of Jesus? Would we embrace them and introduce them to Jesus?

What a different world this would be....want to try on a new pair of glasses?

MaryAnn

MaryAnn and John Kiernan have been married for 35 years, have 2 grown/married sons and are the proud grandparents of two grandsons. She serves at America's Keswick as a Biblical Counselor and also as Intake Coordinator for the Colony of Mercy. Her life verse is Romans 8:28

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