Monday, June 17, 2019

Heart of a Leper


Mark 1:40–42 (NIV84)
40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

Leprosy is a disease for which there is no known cure then or now though it can be controlled now. One of the symptoms of Leprosy is nerve damage that causes the person to lose all feeling in their body. Not unlike us when we harden our hearts due to the pain we have suffered. Leprosy, in those days required the person to remain isolated from others so they would not pass it on. We isolate ourselves trying not to get hurt ourselves.
I cannot count the number of times I kept people at a LONG distance emotionally, including children and parents, in order to protect myself from any further hurt. Leprosy required a 50 paces distance be kept which is about the distance I/we keep everyone so we won’t get hurt anymore!
When the leper got desperate enough to approach Jesus for healing Jesus healed him. When we get desperate enough to cry out to God, He heals our hearts and takes the heart of stone away and replaces it with a heart of flesh. The leper’s flesh was falling off and disease ridden. Jesus replaced it with clean and new flesh.
Stop living the life of a leper in times of old and start living a life filled with love, peace, joy and compassion. Jesus heals, Jesus loves, Jesus is the answer!

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