Get Real October 19 Devotional
October 19, 2024
LEVITICUS 21:16-20 | 16 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron and say: No one of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the food of his God. 18 Indeed, no one who has a blemish shall draw near, one who is blind or lame, or one who is mutilated or deformed, 19 or one who has a broken foot or a broken hand, 20 or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a defect in his eyes or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.
LUKE 6:6-10| 6 On another Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. 7 The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him to see whether he would cure on the Sabbath, so that they might find grounds to bring an accusation against him. 8 But he knew what they were thinking, and he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come and stand in the middle.” He got up and stood there. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 After looking around at all of them, he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored.
A requirement for active priesthood was physical perfection. Physical wholeness was a reminder of the need for moral wholeness. Various imperfections are listed here and the list of the disqualified is extensive. If we were left only with this Levitical teaching, we might mistakenly see impairments or physical defects as signs of moral or spiritual failure, or even divine punishment. But in many moments in the gospels, like the Sabbath meeting of Jesus and the man with a withered hand, we see God’s heart for the hurting and will for those who have physical challenges—He heals the sufferer. Today there is a sub field of theology which understands disability as a feature of all our lives in different ways and encourages us to be open to the spiritual contributions of those who face physical, mental, or emotional challenges.
Have you ever known someone with special challenges who had a special heart?
Gracious God,
Help me to be open to the depth and beauty of others and aware of my own limitations.
Amen.
