BEHIND THE SONGS

BEHIND THE SONGS
"The Leper" (feat: Born2Di)

This song was born from the inspiration of the first 4 verses in Matthew chapter 8 of the bible.  After reading this story and chewing on the contents of this short passage, I began to wonder what it must have been like in those days to have leprosy. I learned that having it made you "unclean". When you are labeled "unclean", you are separated from society because of the fear that if you touched someone with the disease, you can get it. Not just a short time away to heal, but an undetermined and sometimes lifetime away from the blessings of relationships.
     These days we can think we are in relationships with hundreds or maybe even thousands of relationships because of the media outlets we have access to. The reality from the leper's point of view is that he was quarantined, away from everyone. Away from his family with no Facebook, cell phone, twitter, blogger, internet...nothing. What I felt he probably missed the most was physical touch.
     Do you know that feeling when you haven't seen a loved one for a long time and when you do, there's a bear hug that can't last long and a squeeze hard enough to make your eyes rain? I was trying to think about life from his perspective. Seeing his family far away, dressed in rags, pissed of that he can't be near those he loves. I imagined him wondering "what does my family think? What do my close friends think? Do they miss me? Do they want me to be around as much as I do? Are they afraid of me? Do they think I am some kind of monster? Man! I hate missing supper with my family, bed time, tucking my children in bed!"
     I wondered if he thought that there was something he did wrong to deserve this punishment. Have you ever wondered that for yourself? I have. Thinking that the consequences of my wicked actions and decisions have led me to a place where I am separated from those I love or even kept from doing the things I truly want to do.
     BUT...there was a man on the streets this leper had heard of. A Miracle Man, one who was healing people of many diseases. He had a hope that if he could only get to this man, he could be healed by him. This man is Jesus of Nazareth. Once the leper saw him he ran to him and something very unexpected in society happened. Jesus did not run away. The leper fell at Jesus' feet and the belief in the man's heart knew that Jesus could heal him. Jesus does the unthinkable and reaches out and touches him. The man is healed and Jesus never contracted the disease.
     What a beautiful picture of how Jesus has reached out to each of us in our leprosy. What is your "leprosy"? What is it in your life, your past, that you feel has separated you from the One who wants to reach out and touch you with his loving, healing hand? We are free from the sin that separates us from our heavenly father. That's WHY God sent his Son to earth to take the punishment for the debt our sin created.