AS THEY WENT

“And it came to pass, that, as they went,
they were cleansed”
Luke 17:14

We want results.  God wants obedience.  The two are connected in the person of Jesus. Not only were the ten lepers mentioned here sick, but they were also outcasts.  They wanted healing, they needed healing and they cried out for healing.  The Word from Jesus was simple: “go”.  Their condition had not changed but in spite of this they obeyed; the cleansing came AS they walked, not before.

Leprosy represents the contagion of sin in a man’s life. The entire human race is infected with this loathsome condition.  We see it around us, we see it in us and, because of it, we cry out for deliverance.  People wait for changes in their circumstances and situations before they venture to step out in faith; the Son says to walk and be made whole.  Faith requires no evidence to believe. It matters not what our circumstances declare. Our weaknesses are of no consequence in the realm of faith. Our failures have no legitimate claim to dampen our faith; for Faith rests in the accomplished work of the Son, not our own.  Faith is not a “feeling” inherent in some people and not in others.  Faith is a power, a ministration of the Son who looks for hearts that will allow God to show Himself strong on their behalf!

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong
in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him”
II Chronicles 16:9

We are here to learn that faith is the fruit of a relationship with its author.  It comes to us as a free unmerited gift, but its real development in our lives is the result of walking and growing in our relationship with Jesus!  It is in the walking with Him in the ordinary course of life.   It is in the going when I feel crippled myself. It is in the realization of our emptiness we find a rich provision that our brothers and sisters may be fed. In our own weariness, we find His strength to encourage and refresh others!  This is the true nature of faith! Faith reaches through the clouds of discouragement and failure and lays hold of Him who is faithful and true.  Faith is the mover of men’s hearts and the impetus to do the works of God. As we go in His “go”, we are cleansed, made whole, and we find in Him the power to become an extension of His hands on the earth.

“Faith is an activity;
it is something that has to be applied”
Corrie ten Boom (1892–1983)

See related article: Mended By Grace

Brian Troxel