Spiritual Leprosy

(I wrote this two weeks ago, and have labored on it since. I pray it finds and blesses the person who needs it.)

“Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)

This past Sunday, our pastor preached on that single sentence. One of the things that he talked about is how pain is a gift, because pain lets you know that there is something wrong.

To illustrate this, he spoke of the time he visited a leper colony in Haiti. Leprosy affects the nerves, he explained, and people who suffer from it cannot feel anything. They don’t feel pain, even when parts of their bodies are cut off. A person with leprosy might put their hand on the burner of a stove, for example, and not know it until they smelled their own flesh, burning.

With that in mind, it’s easy to see how pain can sometimes be a gift!

But we don’t enjoy pain; in fact, here in the United States, we will do almost anything to avoid it. We act as if pain is the enemy.

But the pain is there to warn us.

This morning, I was reading the first chapter of the book of Romans, and it opened up to me in a way that it hadn’t before. Though I have read it many times previously, and have written in this blog about the way God reveals Himself through His creation, I understood it to mean that certain people would be able to find evidence for God if they looked for it.

But when I read it in the New Living Translation, I understood that God didn’t leave any of it to chance. God put the knowledge of Himself into everyone’s heart.

“For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God has made. They can clearly see His invisible qualities–His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.” (Romans 1:19-20 NLT)

I read this verse and thought about how much energy so many Christian apologists have spent in trying to convince people that God exists. But this verse says that everyone, even the wicked, already know, because God has put it in their hearts.

“Yes, they knew God, but wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes. . . .Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies.” (Romans 1:21-23, 25 NLT)

And because these people have already chosen to believe lies, God let them go do it. The King James version says that God “gave them over to a reprobate mind (or “a mind void of judgment” the note says. v.28)

Those who say they don’t believe in God already know the truth deep down. This passage says they have deliberately chosen to reject it.

When someone has deliberately chosen a lie, and hardened their hearts against the truth, logic doesn’t work anymore. You can’t present facts to such a person and expect to “open their eyes.” They may pretend to “not know,” but what they are really doing is trying to understand where your faith sits so they can undermine it.

Those who attack Christians, in order to destroy their faith, have chosen enmity with God. Usually they are former Christians, or were raised by Christian parents. Most know a lot about the Bible; sometimes they know more than the Christians that they are trying to intimidate.

How do you know if a person has rejected God? Paul lists the qualities they will display: Envious, malicious, deceitful, proud, boasters, full of debate, deceit, and malignancy; inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, promise-breakers, unmerciful, without natural affection, implacable (heartless and unforgiving).

As I went through the list, I realized that every one of these qualities shows up when love is gone. Without love, one can’t feel natural affection; he becomes heartless. He may be intensely proud, yet without understanding. His mind is dark, without the light of truth that only God can provide. (Love and truth always go together.) And the worst thing is, he doesn’t feel pain. He doesn’t even have a sense of loss.

I remembered my pastor’s story from Sunday, and I suddenly realized: One who is without love has spiritual leprosy.

Someone who has chosen a lie can’t hear the warning that is designed to save him. He doesn’t feel the pain that could let him know it’s time to turn around. God has stopped reaching out to him, and stopped protecting him. God has given him over to a “reprobate mind.” And yet he continues to congratulate himself on how well he is doing in the dark.

I am feeling horror as I write this, and I know I am not the only one to feel horrified. Some of us ARE feeling the pain of what is happening to the lost.

We are being reprogrammed. It happens almost without us noticing, and it becomes more pronounced as we rely more and more on digital media. When we stop reading and discussing things with other real people, and instead only watch videos of strangers interacting, we lose our ability to think critically.

With video, the talking points go so fast; while our minds are still trying to figure out the logic, the discussion has moved on to the next idea as if all is now settled. Music moves our emotions without us being aware of it. Digitally-enhanced beauty has overtaken reality, as fake backgrounds become common, and even the people, themselves, wear filters. Is it any wonder that we are drawn to ideas for reasons we don’t understand?

I know some young people who are being drawn into belief systems that are demonic. I don’t know how to help them, because part of the programming primes them with talking points to ward off any attempt to interfere with the programming. So I pray.

But my heart aches for those who are exchanging the truth of God for a lie, all while they barely realize it.

I feel strongly that this is God’s message to all of us. If anyone reading this feels a sense of dread in their spirit, please pay attention to it! Run to your real, physical Bible, and begin to read. Let it wash your mind, and awaken your heart!

And if God’s Word brings conviction, then praise God for His mercy! God is pure love, showing us the right way to go about fixing things. Conviction is a sure sign that God is still investing in a person. It’s a warning to step away from the edge of the drop-off. And the ability to repent is a gift from Him, too.

All of this is normal life for those who are following Jesus Christ. We will face doubt, and we may wander off, but He is the great shepherd, and He will bring us back. The spiritual leprosy sets in when we deliberately and repeatedly turn away from Him.

Consider how long you would continue to reach out to someone who disrespected you. How many times would you keep trying to communicate with someone who ignores you? With that in mind, think of how often God continues to draw us back to Himself when we go astray. How deep God’s love is for us!

Jesus lived here, and was tempted in every way we are, but he never sinned. He never betrayed the Father. He can show us how to live in a way that pleases God. He gave us His Holy Spirit to empower us to do what is right. And Jesus promised that He would never abandon us, ever, until we are finally with Him.

Jesus healed leprosy more than once while on this earth. He wants to awaken the dead to life, to make the jaded person sensitive once more. He can restore innocence! There is nothing too great for Him to forgive, if only a person will turn from the darkness and come back.

It is such a comfort to feel the presence of God in His Word! If you are suffering in apathy; if only a small part of you still cares what God thinks, then it isn’t too late. Just open the Bible and let the Word of God wash your mind clean.

Just as no one just leaves God when they are close to Him, but rather other things begin to edge between us, there is also a process to coming back. The Lord is gentle with us, and He will bring us back into fellowship with Him in the way that is best for us.

Though Jesus has done all the hard work, Himself; sometimes we need to make things right. The risen Jesus made Peter tell Him that he loved Him three times; once for each of Peter’s denials. And each time, Jesus responded to Peter’s “I love you,” with “Feed my sheep.”

This goes with what Jesus said before his crucifixion, “If you love me, keep my commandments,” and then “These things I command you, that you love one another.” If we love God, we are to show that love to Him by loving other people.

And if you are reading this far, you show that you are hungry for the things of God. If you use it as a reminder, that’s great. But if you are suffering, please know that I am going to be praying for you to find sensation once again, and for your heart to become tender toward God once more.

May God bless you, my dear friends! Find a friend who loves God, and meet regularly. It’s real life to both you and them. Much love to you!