Clear the Way
Jesus came to remove barriers and make the path back to right relationship God one that anyone could travel.
“When anyone has a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to the priest. When the priest sees the raw flesh, he shall pronounce them unclean...Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.”
Leviticus 13:9, 15, 34, 40, 45-46
Can you imagine how painful life would have been for a leper? Each person with the skin disease not only had to deal with the pain of the disease, but they experienced the social and emotional pain of being an outcast. While it may have been to the benefit of the group to protect others from disease, one cannot help but feel compassion for the outcast.
How different is the world we live in? Loneliness, depression, and anxiety are as prevalent as ever. We have technology to be connected, but patterns of disconnection. What can you do to help bring back one person to a place where they feel loved? Is there anyone on your heart that you could reach out to and let them know that they are not alone?
“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;”
Psalms 103:1-5, 8, 11-13
What would happen if everyone knew their soul's worth? What would happen if we understood the unconditional, unending, compassionate love of Christ? How would that change how we see ourselves and see God?
David knew that love. He knew where he had failed and he knew how God had always made a way back to right relationship. What is David's natural response? He praises. He praises God's compassion and grace. He praises what God has done and how He did it. He sings out the truth and give thanks. He knows a love that is abounding not alienating. He knows God covers sin and does not condemn. Does any of what David sings out resonate with you?
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings...whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
Proverbs 1:5, 7, 23
Wisdom says we have a lot to learn. We might think we know, but we do not know God fully. The fear of the Lord, or perhaps better said in modern English as awe, wonder, reverence, respect, acknowledgment that God is God and I am not, is the beginning of having a heart, mind, and soul to listen and learn.
Would you like more wisdom in your life? Would you like to hear God's voice more clearly? Are you willing to humble yourself to hear what He has to say?
“Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.”
Jeremiah 37:2
Some people will not listen and will not experience healing. This does not mean that God ever stops pursuing them, He doesn't. But, it does mean that they will not experience the transformation that leads to eternal life. Inaction is an action. Not listening is a choice. We have to pray that the Lord would give us ears to hear, if we want to hear.
“After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith...we believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are...It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”
Acts 15:7-11, 19
Conflict arises in the early church. People's opinions about how to walk righteously according leads to division. They were not the first people, nor the last, who will experience pain in a church. Why? Because the church is full of imperfect people who fall short of the glory of God. Often well-intentioned people who are trying to share what they have learned about obeying God and growing according to His word have created barriers to Jesus. We have to make a decision of whether we are going to be people who cause people to leave because we value our barriers or whether we will stop at nothing to bring the lost back to the Shepherd.
The apostles who spent time with Jesus and saw how He approached people decide to keep it simple. Make it easy for people to turn to God. They trust that the Holy Spirit will do the work of purification and conviction, and they decide to simply love the lost. Will we do the same? Will we let go of labeling people clean or unclean, good or bad, sinner or saint and simply help connect them to Jesus?
It has been said that our lives and how we treat people might be the only Bible that others read. You have a role to play. We are meant to be gatekeepers who bring people in not keep them out. Who could you reach out to today that might feel like they are on the margins or unwanted? Ask God for a name, a face, a lost soul who you can reach out to today then reach out and help clear the way for them to find their way back home.