A few years ago I was visiting a beautiful island in the Atlantic Ocean. I had rented a little car to drive, and Edmond, a dear man who lived on the island, and I were winding our way up a narrow road on a tree-covered hill.
As we continued climbing, the road became more narrow and rough. Soon it was only two tire tracks with little streams of water running across the road here and there.
“I think we had better park the car and walk the rest of the way now,” Edmond said finally.
Perhaps you are wondering what we were doing in such a wild area. Who would live so far away from other people? Who were we going to visit?
The people we wanted to visit did not live so far away from everyone else because they wanted to. They lived way up there because that was where the government told them they had to live. You see, the people we were going to visit had the disease of leprosy.
Leprosy is a disease which sometimes can be spread from one person to another. The government of some countries keeps it from spreading to others by keeping the sick ones in a special hospital far away from other people. In the Bible leprosy is used as a picture of sin, because it is such a dreadful disease. Leprosy has no cure.
We got out of the car and took some gospel papers and song sheets with us. We continued to climb up the hill until we reached the hospital. There were the sick ones we had come to visit.
We said hello to them and gave each one a hymn sheet. As one lady reached out to take it, I saw that she had no fingers. The disease had destroyed them. Some folks were so sick they did not come out to see us. We saw people in all different stages of the disease.
Three of them made me think of three kinds of sinners. One man looked like he didn’t have anything wrong with him. I thought, What is he doing here? No, he must have leprosy or he wouldn’t be here. He is like someone who says, “I am not a sinner; I am pretty good.” But God says, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses [good works] are as filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:66But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6).
The next lady had a bandage on her arm, so you could see she had something wrong with her. A sinner like that might say, “I know I have sinned, but I am not as bad as some.” But God says, “There is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:22,2322Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:22‑23). We can’t be good enough to save ourselves, even though we may see others who behave worse than we do.
The last man in the row was a dark-skinned man, and over his whole body you could easily see light marks like chalk. But they were not chalk they were marks of leprosy. This is like a person who doesn’t try to cover up his sins, but confesses to God that he is a sinner and needs a Saviour. God says of him, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:99If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
Which of these sinners are you like? I hope you will confess your sins to the Lord Jesus and let Him wash them away. “The blood of Jesus Christ His [God’s] Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7). This is the only cure for sin.
Now, I don’t want you to think that someone with leprosy is a worse sinner than others. God uses leprosy to show us that just as this sickness causes the body to die, sin will cause your soul to die eternally, unless you take God’s remedy. We are all sinners in God’s sight. Many of those dear people with leprosy whom we visited have accepted God’s remedy for the sickness of their souls and have been cleansed from their sins. They love to sing the gospel hymns.
I hope you will accept God’s remedy too, and you will meet them one day in heaven.
ML-05/03/1992