The Isolation Walk

As long as the serious disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean. They must live in isolation in their place outside the camp. Leviticus 13:46

Outside the camp... Imagine being exiled outside your town or city right now. Hungry? No going to the grocery store; you must place your hope in those who might leave a box of food for you nearby and then run away to avoid that which you carry. Lonesome, your only hope would be for another to contract the same disease afflicting yourself. Do you have another hope? The verse speaks of as long as the disease lasts. At the point of your isolation walk from your home to the outskirts (Good luck finding some public lands to squat on today!) of town, as your head hangs down wondering what awaits you in this new life, you would not know the length of your sentence. Life, is it worth it in these conditions? Well, there is that hope that the disease will run its course, perhaps in just a short time if you even dare to hope for that, and restoration to cleanliness will allow your return to home.

Of course each spring would bring some renewed hope as well. The cold and long darkness of winter has passed and the warmth of spring thaws the heart and bones...ah, what am I saying? In these parts an isolation walk into winter would almost surely mean a walk to a person's final resting place. However, spiritually speaking, maybe even socially speaking, each of us has taken an isolation walk from the world we knew as sinners. Led forth by our Lord Jesus, we said goodbye for good to the world of sin. But not quite! Now and then we return as missionaries and ambassadors to the world, not to participate, but to share the good news we have found in Christ. And lonesome? Not with Jesus with us always even to the end of this age.

Have a loving day in Christ Jesus!

Bucky