Leprosy?

I read another blog and the writer mentioned leprosy and it got me to thinking. What are the main infirmities mentioned in the Bible? Of course the first we think of are the blind, deaf, and the lame. When we did a little deeper we remember those that were mute and the woman with the issue of blood but we rarely think about the leprous. I think in our culture that disease does not resonate with us like the others do. We probably all could think of sometime in our life when we interacted with the blind, deaf, mute, lame and even people with issues of blood, think Leukemia. I can go back through my life and I have been with all of these people, other than the leper. I have never met a leper, never interacted with a leper and therefore don't know a lot about leprosy. Leprosy is a disease where micro bacteria create lesions on skin and the body responds by creating macules of hard unfeeling like growths to confine the ailment. Untreated the microbes continue to spread and at the same time the body creates more macules to contain them. By popular belief, limbs and fingers do not fall off of lepers, but they can not feel because of the macules and in time break fingers, toes and bones because they do not feel the pain. In extreme cases the extremity is amputated to prevent further injury.

So why the dissertation on Leprosy? It is mentioned a lot in the Word of GOD, and we give it a passing glance. But reading between the lines it is something that infects millions of people every year. The Bible talks of people "hardening" their hearts. Yep, creating macules around their sin, hard encrusted and unfeeling areas. The problem with this is there is never a healing that takes place. The macules just cover the problem, and eventually we grow this thick hide over it that even the greatest conviction can not penetrate it and so we never deal with it.

So let me ask you a question today, have you hardened your heart? Do you have leprosy of the heart? Are you still convicted over sin in your life or have you gone to that unfeeling, numb state where you are unmoved over sin? Jesus can heal you of the leprosy of heart, you just have to ask him to...