Inside to outside

Inside to Outside

Lev. 13:3  “The priest is to examine the sore on the skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is a defiling skin disease.  When the priest examines that person, he shall pronounce them ceremonially unclean.”

As my daughters and I were wrestling with today’s devotion, Esther asked me “What’s the point of this passage?”  God gave me instant wisdom right there, for I answered her, “As the skin disease was an indication of what’s going on inside the body, so our outward appearance indicates what’s going on inside our hearts.”  A rash or a sore on a person’s skin usually means that something wrong is going on inside that person’s body.  This is different than a slight burn or a scratch coming from the environment outside.  I pointed out to Stephanie that if her facial expression was moody and pouty, I could tell what’s going on inside her heart.  Then I asked my girls what could be done to stop the spread of infection, and they reply that the infected person must be isolated, as written in Lev. 13:4-8.  In order to stop sin from spreading, the sinner must be isolated or pulled aside and dealt with.  That’s why a rambunctious student gets sent to the principal’s office or a dangerous criminal gets sent to jail.  An addicted person must separate from his source of addiction, or he/she could not get “clean.”

Lord, let not the sins and temptations around us infect our hearts.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.