unclean

Leviticus 11-13

clean and unclean animals ... purification after childbirth ... infectious skin diseases ... eeeyuuuchhh!

Here's the bottom line - each and every person in the whole world is morally UNCLEAN! So who cares? Well, here's the friction:

13:46 As long as the serious disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean. They must live in isolation in their place outside the camp.

You see, we can never be part of God's community because He is perfectly holy, and we are disgusting and filthy (morally). We are in desperate need of The Great High Priest to clean us up and make us holy!

13:17 ... If the affected areas have indeed turned white, the priest will then pronounce the person ceremonially clean by declaring, 'You are clean!'

This reminds me of the hymn:

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

The Father calls us to live a holy life, in honor of His perfect Holiness:

11:45 For I, the Lord, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy.

He has yanked me out of the slimy pit of this world, He has washed me with the powerful blood of Christ Jesus, and He has given me a hope and a future. By His grace, I will honor Him today by living a life of integrity. I will not allow the uncleanliness of this world to rub off on me. I will be careful with what I listen to and especially careful with what I look at. I will be careful what I say and where I go, so that people may know Whom I serve.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for curing my diseased heart! Lord, thank you for continuing to work on me to purify me from all unrighteousness, not only objectively at the point of justification, but subjectively through sanctification. Oh God, make me holy as you are holy - only you can do it. I give my life to you, and I ask you to clean me up! May I keep in step with the Spirit today! I ask this in the name of the Great High Priest who has pronounced me clean - Jesus Christ. Amen.