Testimonies
THE TESTIMONY
OF A LEPER
By Henry Jaegers
I am leper. I have done nothing that would cause this disease except to be borne from parents who also were lepers. For close to 20 years I did not know that I had this disease. There were symptoms that others could see but I was unaware of them. Even if I was, I didn't know their cause. As I have been studying and researching I discovered something that caused me to take this matter seriously. I discovered that there is no cure for leprosy, mainly because the there is no form of animal life of which they could experiment. Lower forms of animal life are immune to the disease although humans are not.
Over the years it has been under control but sometimes isolation was necessary in order for others to be protected from contamination. That's the problem with leprosy. While it is active, it is always contagious and dangerous to society. That is why in the Bible the lepers were placed outside the camp along with other lepers. Those people who are clean recognized the symptoms and so I am avoided lest they become infected as well.
I suppose that it has been a good thing that I know about this. Strange as it may seem, trained medical doctors could not diagnose my problem because they didn't recognize the symptoms. There are some doctors, I understand, that are familiar with the sickness and they can offer some solutions to keep it under control but I have discovered other doctors who, like myself, have the disease of which they are unaware. I read an article by a doctor who had seen leprosy in its advanced stages and it was scary.
Here is what he described as he testifies of the horrible reality expressed by a veteran missionary and an accurate observer, who writes thus: “as I was approaching Jerusalem, I was startled by the sudden apparition of the crowd of beggars, sans eyes, sans nose, sans hair, sans everything; they held up their handless arms, while unearthly sounds gurgled through throats with no pallets; in a word I was horrified, too horrible it is to be repeated or thought. But then all the more solemnly instructive is, that the Holy Spirit should have chosen this disease, the most loathsome and fatal of all, symbolizing to us to us the true nature of that spiritual condition which is true of all, and seen by the omniscient and the most holy God. I can not tell you the fear it brought into my heart as I thought of what could happen if this sickness is not somehow brought under control. The examples I have cited reflect the sickness in its most devastating stages, where death seems to be the only possible cure.
But hope is not gone. I noticed in the Scriptures that God has a means of cleansing leprosy so a person can function once again as a normal person in a society without causing contagion. In the Old Testament it was the priests who recognize the disease and had a solution for its cleansing. Who would think that someone with the disease such as this could ever be helped by a minister? As I read further into the New Testament and saw the times when Jesus dealt with lepers I discovered that not one time did Jesus ever heal the lepers; they were all cleansed of this sickness and brought to the place where they were no longer a menace. So there is hope for lepers. There is a way that he could be cleansed although they could never be completely healed. Knowing this, I became hopeful and positive that my sickness could be brought under control and and not be a hindrance to others.
I share this with you because there are many people like myself who have a disease called spiritual leprosy. That is what I am referring to. We came into this world inheriting from our parents, beginning with Adam, this horrible disease that we call sin, It is incurable, and it will never go away. Like leprosy, it hangs around and the seed remains in my body for all of my life. We are told in Romans chapter 5: 12 “.Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” There is a distinct difference between sins and sin. Sin in essence is the leprosy. It is permanent and does not go away until I get to heaven. . Sins are the offspring of sin. The sinful acts that I do come from the sinful person that I am. So the things that we usually see as sin are basically the results of sin Sin is something that I can't do anything about. (There are some who believe in sinless perfection but this idea has some problems with interpretation). Jeremiah Chapter 17:9 says “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” We cannot know the extent and the potential that sin has. Like the leper being banned from society, we could eventually become criminals who were guilty of murder lust and greed spending the rest of our lives incarcerated away from society.
That is like the extreme forms of leprosy but Jesus has offered to us a new life and although we never lose the sin nature, he has made it possible for us to deal with the symptoms. First He forgives our sin (He wipes the slate clean removes all the residue) of that which is against us and he forgives and gives us a clean slate and opportunity to live a new life. When we come face-to-face with our spiritual leprosy and recognize the hopelessness of our being able to do anything about it, we then come to God who forgives our sin and through prayer and the implanting of the Holy Spirit, gives us a new life and the freedom from all the leper’s symptoms that arise. We are told in IJohn 1:9 that when we are confronted by our sin, and face up to the fact of the reality of it, and confess it, (that means own up to it,) that “God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. For over 77 years I lived with this terrible dreadful sin nature, which is the leprosy that I was speaking about. Over the years I have had to deal with the various stages that pop up every now and then, finding the answer that will make me whole. Whenever these symptoms appear or seem to appear, I go to the great physician, Jesus himself, and I ask for his help to cleanse me and keep me strong. That does not keep the leprosy from festering every once in a while, but each time I learn how to deal with it I become more informed and stronger and the potential for contamination lessens.
Someday I know that my leprosy will be completely healed. In Revelation chapter 21 and 22 we find these words of hope: “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow or crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away. And I saw no temple there: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of the city and had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it and on either side of the river was there the tree of life which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: the the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: and they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their fore heads and there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.”
Yes it is true, I am a leper and as long as this sin nature is in my body I shall always be a leper ,but I am a compassionate leper. I am concerned about my other friends who were unaware of their leprosy that will destroy them both physically and spiritually. I close this section with the final words of Jesus as he cries out to the world, “ And behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work may be; And the spirit and the bride say come. And let him that heareth say come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”Will you take His offer?
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