The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 5:13,
"'I am willing,' he [Jesus] said. 'Be clean!'"
In this account, a leper approached Jesus and asked to be healed. His request to the Lord was couched in an observation he made, an observation born of faith, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Verse 12.
In this observation the leper emulated the faith of Abraham, of whom Paul says, "... he [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." Romans 4:20-21. This leper had no doubt that Jesus Christ could heal him from a horrible condition he had certainly lived with for years, rendering his life a miserable existence.
For the leper's part, he believed. He knew that Jesus Christ could relieve him of his fate, of his suffering. What he was greeted with was the Lord's part: Jesus Christ was willing! As Jesus looked at the suffering man in compassion he said, "I am willing... be clean!"
I see in this a metaphor for my own condition. As a person who justly deserves God's anger and wrath, I am in a horrible position. All I have to look forward to, following this life, is an eternity caught in a lake of fire, Revelation 20:15. I read in Revelation 21:8, "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." As the leper, I suffer a horrible condition.
And also, like the experience of the leper with Jesus Christ, I find in my Lord a willingness to relieve my plight. All I need do is approach him in faith. As the leper found relief, I find relief!
What I find so compelling about this account is the disposition of Jesus Christ: "I am willing!" How wonderful this disposition of his! Love, mercy, kindness! All these are expressed in his wonderful grace toward us all! All he asks is that we embrace him in faith. And, in his faithfulness he swings wide the door for us to enter into his family, to receive an inheritance of eternal life shared by all who have embraced him in faith!
What a wonderful heart of love our Lord has!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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