Leper...

Last weekend our Associate Pastor preached from Luke 5 12-13, the story of the Leper. He was speaking about how he would have felt when he was healed, what he would have done after being healed. He defined compassion as something like : awareness of someones suffering and acting to relieve it. He spoke of how many of us think we are compassionate, but if we feel sorry for someone and do nothing to help them, we are not being compassionate. When reading these Scriptures (Luke 5:12 And it came about that while He was in one of the cities, behold , there was a man full of leprosy; and when he saw Jesus he fell on his face and implored Him, saying "Lord if you are willing, You can make me clean." 13 And He stretched out His hand, and touched him, saying , "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately the leprosy left him." My thoughts are this, Who do I make a leper out of? Who do you? Are we being compassionate to them? We do not have the ability to heal with a touch. For us, we live in that space between, between making someone a leper and healing them with a touch. What we do with that space is so important. I know who my lepers are, and if I could heal them with a touch, I most definitely would. But in that space in between, I can do them immeasurable good . Or, I can further ostracize them. I pray that God gives me the wisdom, to manage my space wisely. I pray that God gives me mercy and forgives me of making a leper out of ANYONE, as he is Creator of All, and surely must love all. I pray for the ones who make a leper out of me. You see when I read that story, more than Jesus, more than those who have outcast the man, I relate to the leper. I pray that those who are making a leper out of me, use their space wisely. I pray that Gods keeps touching me thru the space in between.