The Untouchables
Scripture: Luke 5:12-13
"In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” 13 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared..."
Observations:
One of the revolutionary things about Jesus was the fact that He made a practice of reaching out to the 'scum' and 'low-lifes' of society like prostitues, homeless beggars, and people with incurable infectious diseases that nobody wanted anything to do with. Unlike virtually every religious leader of His day, He touched the untouchable and loved the unloveable when no one else would. Jesus went against every social norm in the book when it came to loving people. He broke all the rules and put His reputation aside so that He could identify with "those" people.
Application:
Why is it that Jesus went out of His way to interact with, serve, and help these outcasts when we (self included) often go out of our way to avoid them? Maybe we really don't believe they're worth it? Maybe we don't really believe there's any hope for them? Sure God can help most people, but not "that kind" of sinner. Are there are certain types of people whose sin makes them "untouchable" in your world? If we truly desire to be like Jesus, our love must extend far beyond our normal social, cultural, and economic barriers when it comes to being the Church. Yes people will misunderstand you and will think you're different. But Jesus made clear that following Him will cause us to experience the same kind of reaction from others that He received when we start loving like He did (John 15:19-20). But we can't afford to care what people think at the expense of following the example of Jesus and being His hand and feet. ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ (Matthew 25:40).
Prayer:
Father, teach us to love like You do. Forgive us for neglecting those the world considers 'the least'. Help us to see the value in each person You've created and lay our prejudice aside for the sake of communicating Christ to the world. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
"In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” 13 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared..."
Observations:
One of the revolutionary things about Jesus was the fact that He made a practice of reaching out to the 'scum' and 'low-lifes' of society like prostitues, homeless beggars, and people with incurable infectious diseases that nobody wanted anything to do with. Unlike virtually every religious leader of His day, He touched the untouchable and loved the unloveable when no one else would. Jesus went against every social norm in the book when it came to loving people. He broke all the rules and put His reputation aside so that He could identify with "those" people.
Application:
Why is it that Jesus went out of His way to interact with, serve, and help these outcasts when we (self included) often go out of our way to avoid them? Maybe we really don't believe they're worth it? Maybe we don't really believe there's any hope for them? Sure God can help most people, but not "that kind" of sinner. Are there are certain types of people whose sin makes them "untouchable" in your world? If we truly desire to be like Jesus, our love must extend far beyond our normal social, cultural, and economic barriers when it comes to being the Church. Yes people will misunderstand you and will think you're different. But Jesus made clear that following Him will cause us to experience the same kind of reaction from others that He received when we start loving like He did (John 15:19-20). But we can't afford to care what people think at the expense of following the example of Jesus and being His hand and feet. ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ (Matthew 25:40).
Prayer:
Father, teach us to love like You do. Forgive us for neglecting those the world considers 'the least'. Help us to see the value in each person You've created and lay our prejudice aside for the sake of communicating Christ to the world. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
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