Love that Breaks Barriers
If you’ve ever watched a big ol’ tom turkey try to squeeze himself through a gap in the fence that was clearly built for a rabbit, then you already know life can get downright comical and uncomfortable at the same time. So, why don’t you just ease yourself on up here on this front porch, friend, and let your heart take a deep, rest-your-rattled-self breath. Sometimes you just need a quiet place to sit for a lil’ ol’ spell, listen to the wind hummin’ through the trees, and watch a squirrel fuss at a raccoon like he’s runnin’ for sheriff. It’s in moments like these that Scripture slips in soft as a sunrise. Luke 5:13 says, “And Jesus reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing. Be cleansed. And immediately the leprosy left him.” That there truth is steadier than a wise old hoot owl perched on his favorite limb watchin’ the whole forest behave badly.
Back in the days of Moses, there was rules thicker than an ol’ hog in a mudhole, and breakin’ some of them rules could get you stoned quicker than an ol’ rooster can git to crowin’. Lepers were pushed out, labeled unclean, and treated like they was carryin’ trouble in their pockets. But Jesus stepped into those moments with a love that didn’t flinch. He didn’t do any o’ that there kind o’ tiptoein’ ‘round them hurting folks. He reached right on out an’ touched the untouchable ones. He healed the hopeless. He broke the rules of fear with the mighty power of compassion.
That leper in Luke 5:12-13 came fallin’ at Jesus’ feet, beggin’ for mercy. An’ Jesus, full of love, reached right out and touched him. He didn’t worry ‘bout infection. He brought restoration. That there’s the Jesus we follow. That there’s the love we’re called to be carryin’.
An’ Jesus didn’t stop there. In Luke 8:48, He spoke to the woman with the issue of blood, a woman folks avoided like a skunk at a picnic. Yet Jesus called her forward, lifted her head, and said, “Daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace.” That there’s love that heals the body and the heart.
Friend, Jesus gave us power to walk in that same compassion. Luke 10:19 reminds us that He has given us authority over all the power of the enemy. That there means we can be reachin’ right on out to the broken, the weary, and the overlooked with confidence, not fear. His love in us is meant to touch the world.
Father, thank You for the love of Jesus that flows through me. Help me reach the hurting, lift the weary, and show compassion to every person You place in my path. Let Your love be seen in my words and my actions today. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
Before you go wanderin’ off this here porch and git back into a world where the cottontail rabbits dart ‘round the yard like they’re real late for a meetin’ they forgot to prepare for, and the blue jays act like they’re runnin’ some kind o’ neighborhood watch, take this here truth with you, friend. Jesus’ love is real bold. Jesus’ love is real willing. Jesus’ love reaches places where others refuse to even consider goin’. An’ when you git to walkin’ in that same kind o’ love, it’ll shine and sparkle through your life even brighter than a whole hillside of mornin’ dew glistenin’ like diamonds when the sun first peeks out over the giant Texas Live Oak trees remindin’ the world that compassion sho’-nuff’ still has real power.
With joy,
Gwen
