There have been occasions in my life when I have been absoluteley filthy. Repairing sewer lines, for instance. Times when the grime and smell have been so bad that I couldn't stand being close to myself. Wow, did it feel good to get in the shower and be cleansed!
One day Jesus was approached by a man who had leprosy. It is a horrible disease in which the flesh actually rots and falls off. The smell is gut-wrenching.
The man begged Jesus, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Get this: Jesus reached out and touched that smelly, rotting mass of flesh and said, "I am willing. Be clean!" Can you imagine how that leper felt? Flesh restored. No more odor. Clean!
What a physical picture of what Jesus as done for us spiritually! If we could only see what our sin looks like. It rots our soul. It is a stench in the nostrils of a holy God. But when we come before him, in that pathetic condition, and say, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean" -- guess what? He reaches out his hand and says, "I am willing. Be clean!" And our soul is restored. And the stench is replaced with the aroma of Christ himself. Cleansed!
Awesome, huh.
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