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Exfoliation
“And behold, a leper came
and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me
clean.’ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his
leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:2-3)
Before we married three years ago (on June 23rd),
we had each decided that we would go through the rest of our lives –
alone. I had a high regard for marriage, but it seemed to be for –
others! Whatever the chemistry and/or attitude it took to be successfully
married, I didn’t seem to have what it took to make it happen! And I was
definitely turning into a “stick-in-the-mud;” a person who pretty much
stayed at home. That was before Genevieve came into my life. She changed
everything. We’re happily married – Yes, it’s possible! Life can be
wonderful! And I’m not a stick-in-the-mud anymore.
We’ve spent time in places like Israel, New York
City, Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, Yucatan in Mexico, Arizona,
Nevada, and we go a lot in our home state of California. We’ve done
unexpected and wonderful things that I DEFINITELY would not have done or
thought about, except for her. Included is “exfoliation,”
a subject that men don’t ordinarily discuss. This is a process where old
cells are removed through the use of an abrasive substance. The attempt
is to turn someone old into something new.
I avoided this procedure as long as possible, even
though Genevieve kept reassuring me: “You’ll
love it! I replied that “exfoliation”
sounded very much like a pedicure – Something men just don’t do! Finally,
I gave in and agreed to visit Petie the exfoliation-person in her salon,
at the date and time suggested by Genevieve.
The procedure turned out to be a “facial”
– A term I hesitate even to use because men just don’t talk like that!
But Genevieve and Petie assured me the great benefit was that I would nick
myself fewer times while shaving. That didn’t sound logical – With less
thickness of skin, it just made sense that you’d have less protection
against the razor blade. But I was exfoliated, and shhh! – I’ll share
this with you: It was wonderful!
I told a few people that it had been done,
delightedly sharing: “I lost consciousness
during the procedure.” It did feel good and I did doze off during
it. I suggested to Petie that she should sell T-shirts or sweat shirts,
with the legend, “I’ve Been Exfoliated,”
along with the number of her shop. She may do it and I may buy one! The
bonus is that, indeed, I do cut myself less while shaving. I’ve been
exfoliated – And it’s great!
The bottom line to the procedure is that you are made
to feel really, really clean! It’s a good feeling. I draw the line at
pedicures, however – That’s going too far!
Now, it’s very important in life that we feel really
clean. The best kind of “clean,” however, is to be unsoiled inside -
Morally clean, which is very difficult because once we’ve lived in this
world for a few years, our attitudes and resultant actions become less
clean than we would like them to be. This degenerative process is really
quite predictable, because we are assured on good authority that, “All
have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
That’s you and me. Similar to the leper in today’s Scripture, you and I
need to be “cleansed”
– but our problem is inside.
If you want to be clean, you can be; and I’m not
talking, right now, about Petie’s salon. I’m speaking of the Lord, who
can and does make us CLEAN in our hearts, minds and lives. Somewhere deep
inside, a part of everyone is calling out, “Lord,
if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
And He is calling back to you, with the words we all need to hear:
“I am willing; be cleansed.”
Jesus Christ allows the
abrasions of our lives to make us just uncomfortable enough to FINALLY
become open to His call. We don’t like the discomforts of sickness, loss,
pain, and death, and the reality of it all is: Neither does He. And yet,
the losses we experience cause questions to come into our minds, like: “Why?”
We wonder many times, “Why is this
happening to ME?” This leads to a whole
series of questions over many years, finally leading to a surrender to the
Son of God. He will give you new life. He has done the work, He loves
you without limit, and He is waiting for – you.
I read an Associated Press
article (Long Beach Press Telegram 5/14/04) about a girl in Utah who had a
traffic accident. In order to treat the bleeding on her brain, the
surgeons removed half of her skull. She had to wear a plastic street
hockey helmet and she suffered “extreme
pain just bending down and would wake up in the morning to find that her
brain had shifted to one side during the night.”
The half skull had been frozen and was supposed to be replaced in a month,
but it was four months before the second operation was performed. The
issue was money – Insurance money. The hospital was waiting to see if any
insurance program such as Medicaid would cover the operation. Her
mother’s insurance finally decided to pay and the hospital replaced her
skull!
In the sight of God, we
have lost everything. We need something like “surgery” inside, to make us
whole once more. We need the Lord even more than that girl needed the
rest of her skull, and only the Son of God can make us whole. The issue
is not money, for we could never have enough. The issue is love, and God
has more than enough to cover our need – All we need to do in return is
have faith in Him that He indeed really does care that much for you and
me.
The leper who came to Jesus
had no real expectation from a human perspective that Jesus would even
touch him or speak to him, for the religious Jews of that day (they were
ALL religious) were forbidden to go anywhere near lepers. Yet the Son of
God had no such inhibitions. He was not and is not limited by laws
designed for human beings. He is not afraid of who and what you are. He
knows that you and I need to be made whole and He has already performed
the work on the cross of Calvary. He is waiting and wants to make you
whole. Because of Him, you can be “born
again” (John 3:3, 7); made new in ways
you never expected or even thought about. Will you come to Him now?
Lord, I want to be made
clean – inside, where it counts. Just like that leper could not become
clean by himself, I cannot restore myself in the sight of God. I need
You, Lord Jesus. Please forgive my sins and make me whole. In Jesus
Name. Amen.
Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchontheNet.org
www.BlessedHands.org
E-mail:
Ron@FridayStudy.org
Tel: (562) 688-5559
PO
Box 92131
Long Beach, CA 90809-2131
"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
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