And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:3
I grew up on a farm, and knew what it was like to get dirty, especially around the barns and the muddy fields. Often, the dirt was a byproduct of the chore I was involved in. Perhaps the dirtiest I ever got was the time my brother and I cleaned out the old septic tank that held the flow from the kitchen sink. That sticky, smelly grey sludge covered us and clung to us. When we finished the filthy task, we showed up at the back door to the kitchen, but our mother just shook her head. ‘You’re not coming in here like that! I want you all cleaned off before you come in.’ She handed us a bag with some clean clothes, and a bar of soap, and pointed to the brook. Off we went, and did not return until we were clean. We were carefully inspected before we were allowed back into the house. Our Heavenly Father’s presence is like that: He requires us to be clean. But the Lord Jesus is willing to cleanse us every time we get defiled.
The world defiles us and robs us of that which is good, just as leprosy, or a dirty septic tank. The man who Jesus addressed had no hope of entering polite society, or even humble society, with his wretched disease. In a wonderful Gospel message, Jesus willingly and fully cleansed Him. But you and I who are already saved need to be aware that, although our sins are gone, we become defiled, affected by a wicked and godless world that is filled with filthy talk, unkind and dishonest deeds, and an animosity toward God and His Son. We need to be cleansed by constant communication with Heaven and frequent feedings in the Word. Sometime, when we feel we are too defiled, or have committed a serious wrong deed, we feel that the Lord Jesus won’t want to have anything more to do with us. But today’s text sets that straight: He always is willing that we should be clean.
Do you want to be clean and stay clean for your Lord? Remember that He is always ready to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. -Jim MacIntosh