Mark 1:40-45
40A 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!” 42Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
Be the leper: What are you desperate for God to do in your life?
As the leper, I am desperate to enter normal society again. I simply want to be like everyone else, to be included, to leave the fringe world and be accepted. In order to do this, I need to be healed of this disease.
Be Jesus: Are you willing to touch “untouchable” people?
Yes, absolutely. As Jesus, I know that all people are “untouchable”. There isn’t a person on earth who isn’t infected with sin. There isn’t a person alive that isn’t unclean. That is the very reason Jesus came to earth – to touch the unclean and make them clean.
How does this apply to my life and what will I do about it?
First off, I am incredibly thankful that Jesus came to touch me, an untouchable, unclean soul. Second, because I am no different than the outcasts in our society in God’s eyes, I have no reason to treat them as untouchable. If I am honest with myself, that’s easier said than done. I can almost subconsciously carry an “us/them” mentality, making it uncomfortable to touch those who are so much different than me.
What will I do about all of this? I need to make sure when I am having reservations about helping someone who is far different than me, that I not the difference influence my decision. I pray that I will remember in those times that I am no less an outcast than those who I might see as outcasts. Lord, help me to not see our society’s outcasts as any worse than me. Let them be as valuable to me as they are to you. Let me not make a distinction.