Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy (Luke 17:11-19, NIV)
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a] met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Followed by more thinking:
-This is not the first pandemic. It won't be the last.
-First century people knew to maintain their distance from those who were known to be infected.
-Medical resources were so primitive then, compared to now, that some cases of Leprosy were actually acne and other non-contagious skin issues.
-Jesus only healed those who wanted healed. But we also know that He did not heal the apostle Paul, who was willing to be healed.
-Jesus did not wipe out Leprosy.
What can we learn from these thoughts?
Apparently, we can't depend on the government to save lives nor protect the people. Did we really expect any different? They don't know anything about this, either, and as they learn, the virus mutates anyway. It has certainly left many people taking their health into their own hands. Not only Covid-related, but many are refusing treatment for other ailments and injuries, too, because of the overly-congested health care facilities.
-This illness doesn't always show symptoms, so we need to be even more aware of our own surroundings.
-Our super advanced medical industry is floundering and failing. It's not all their fault. They're overwhelmed, under-funded, under-staffed, and under-prepared - and all of their resources are dependent on the government.
-We cannot make demands of God. Not that Paul did. Just that we cannot, either.
-God still allows storms in our lives. We don't always know why. Who are we to judge God?
I try not to write too often about the virus nor the government. I don't want to become obsessed by them and I certainly don't want disagreement about these issues to become a stumbling block to anyone else, believers or non.
Our hope is not in this world nor of this world. We must never, ever lose sight of our True Hope; Jesus.