Yesterday, I lost a friend of mine. It never seems to fail me how frequently we take life for granted. We shop, we scold, we fuss, we fight, to distract us from the finality of life on this side of humanity. Then tragedy strikes, unearthing new and old hurts, wagging its finger at our arrogance.
Nobody is immune from tragedy. Sometimes, that hurt can be overwhelming.
In the story of Jesus and the 10 lepers, the lepers stood at a distance from Jesus and shouted for him to cleanse them. Because they were unclean they were outsiders in society, and nobody, not even the priests would deal with their condition. Think about it. These men could've lived as outcasts forever, never being healed if they were to depend upon their community to assist them. These men took a risk by shouting to Jesus asking to heal them from their disease. They demonstrated true faith because they trusted God to be the only thing that could heal their hurts.
If you've ever been struck with an illness, particularly a food poisoning, you notice that the nausea is the on of the worst parts. It can be gruelling, awful and unending. Often times we don't feel well until we relieve ourselves. Yet shockingly, many of us try our best to keep down food that is contaminated. In doing so, our bodies process the poison and get sicker, unable to expel the toxins. Our kidneys and liver work harder, and we get sicker.
As individuals and as a group we often hold on to hurts that make us sick. We do it as individuals when we refuse to let God take our hurt and heal us. We do it collectively when we hold onto bitterness, mistrust, hate, and greed within our churches, schools, and work places. More often than not, these toxic behaviors stem from some lonely hurt, dying to be nurtured by a willing host.
There are two ways that you can deal with your hurts. You can either either hold them in, and allow them to make you sick, or you can let them out, and begin the work allowing God to cleanse you of the toxic hurt that is destroying your body.
It is only the pure, crisp clean love of God that can heal the sickness of the human condition, and cleanse our inner hurts.
Thought For Today: What hurts are you holding onto?
Scripture: Luke 17:11-19 It happened as he was on his way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance. They lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." It happened that as they went, they were cleansed.
Prayer: Lord let us trust you for our healing. Grant us a clean heart and a renewed spirit in the face of hurt. Touch those around us who suffer with your mercy and grace.
Nobody is immune from tragedy. Sometimes, that hurt can be overwhelming.
In the story of Jesus and the 10 lepers, the lepers stood at a distance from Jesus and shouted for him to cleanse them. Because they were unclean they were outsiders in society, and nobody, not even the priests would deal with their condition. Think about it. These men could've lived as outcasts forever, never being healed if they were to depend upon their community to assist them. These men took a risk by shouting to Jesus asking to heal them from their disease. They demonstrated true faith because they trusted God to be the only thing that could heal their hurts.
If you've ever been struck with an illness, particularly a food poisoning, you notice that the nausea is the on of the worst parts. It can be gruelling, awful and unending. Often times we don't feel well until we relieve ourselves. Yet shockingly, many of us try our best to keep down food that is contaminated. In doing so, our bodies process the poison and get sicker, unable to expel the toxins. Our kidneys and liver work harder, and we get sicker.
As individuals and as a group we often hold on to hurts that make us sick. We do it as individuals when we refuse to let God take our hurt and heal us. We do it collectively when we hold onto bitterness, mistrust, hate, and greed within our churches, schools, and work places. More often than not, these toxic behaviors stem from some lonely hurt, dying to be nurtured by a willing host.
There are two ways that you can deal with your hurts. You can either either hold them in, and allow them to make you sick, or you can let them out, and begin the work allowing God to cleanse you of the toxic hurt that is destroying your body.
It is only the pure, crisp clean love of God that can heal the sickness of the human condition, and cleanse our inner hurts.
Thought For Today: What hurts are you holding onto?
Scripture: Luke 17:11-19 It happened as he was on his way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance. They lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." It happened that as they went, they were cleansed.
Prayer: Lord let us trust you for our healing. Grant us a clean heart and a renewed spirit in the face of hurt. Touch those around us who suffer with your mercy and grace.
