Leper Hearts

I used to think love was a feeling of delight, but now I know love is a series of actions one takes to show another that he cares.

Jesus showed the leper that he cared.

In the beginning of Mark 1 the man with leprosy comes to Jesus and begs him "on his knees, 'If you are willing you can make me clean."  Jesus' response is translated either as having compassion on the man or being indignant.  If the correct translation is "indignant", what is Jesus angry at?  Possibly at the injustice of life that this man has been dealt by a world under the authority of Satan and sin.  Stuff just happens in this world apart from God and Jesus recognizes these things in our lives.  He sees us with compassion too.

Jesus came to cleanse our leper hearts.  While the miracle of this story in Mark is that the man went away healed, the ultimate miracle that God wants to do in every life is heal hearts.  The man would have been even better off knowing this about Jesus.  Maybe that is why Jesus told him to keep the miracle on the DL and go to the priests to offer sacrifices.  Maybe Jesus wanted to steadily and consistently reveal God's will to the man.  Instead the man goes about telling everyone, as would be expected.

Leprosy is a disease where the body eats away at itself.  In the same way, human hearts destroy themselves.  Sickened by sin and consumed from within, our hearts are fully dead, but God's grace enables us to become fully alive and restored.  Jesus provided us this life when he died for us on the cross.