"Walk Among Them"

"And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side." Luke 10:31 

The religious leaders that Jesus talked about would not go among the people for fear of "contaminating" themselves. They would not touch the sick, the bruised, the beaten, the down cast, the unclean least they become "unclean" themselves. Little did they realize that they were themselves sick, bruised, beaten, contaminated, dead already in trespasses and sin. 

 

There was quite a contrast between the priest, Levites, Pharisees and religious leaders of that day and Jesus. Jesus walked among the people. He touched the lepers. He embraced the hurting. He held the children. He ate with publicans and sinners. He wasn't afraid of being "contaminated" by them. He was out there daily not only touching and changing their lives but giving them life. 

 

As Christians, while we are to be "separated" from the world, we are to go into the world. We are to go and reach hurting, broken humanity with help, healing and the message of hope. We are to walk among them and compel the lost to come to Christ. We are in the world but not of the world. But we act like we are not in the world because we separate ourselves from reaching out to them. Are we afraid that we will get "contaminated"? Are we afraid that it will "dirty" our righteousness? 

 

We have been delivered out of the world- the sins, the thoughts, the actions, the deeds, the mindsets, etc.- so we are not to go back into what we have been delivered out of, but we are to walk among the world like Jesus did and help them find their way out. Jesus wasn't afraid of getting "dirty" by the world. He reached out and touched their lives. We should follow Him and do the same. 

 

Have a great day. Are we keeping our distance from the world for fear of being "contaminated" by it, or walking in it like Jesus did reaching out to the lost?

 

For further reading:

Ephesians 2:1

Luke 14:23