January 14

Day 306: Uncleanliness

Leviticus makes one work. Rules and reg's seem to go on and on. Yet, all those rules and reg's point to something.

Today (chapters 11-13) deal with things that are unclean. Unclean food. Uncleanliness related to post-childbirth. Uncleanliness related to skin diseases.

The unclean things are not rejected for being what they are. Camels and rock badgers, or shellfish were made by God, just like everything else. It's just that He decided they were unclean (not an option) for food.

Postpartum mothers are not rejected for being what they are. God loves mothers. But for a while, they were to consider themselves unclean.

And God did not reject people with skin diseases for being what they were. But He did say that the disease made them unclean. All of this confusing for sure. And perhaps seemingly unfair, too.

But God wanted His people, the Israelites still stomping around out in the desert, to know the difference - between clean and unclean; between holy and common.

As time has gone on, the lines between clean and unclean, between holy and common have blurred. Part of that is God's doing. Matthew 27:46 tells us how the Father rejected (as unclean) the Son, Jesus on the cross. Because Jesus had taken our uncleanliness upon Himself - so we could in turn be made clean.

The Holy Spirit told Peter in Acts to "kill and eat" animals that had previously not been on the Jewish menu. God's point was to open Peter's mind to the reality that God's Kingdom would include lots of Gentile believers.

The problem comes when we make uncleanliness a verb. Our attitudes, our motivations, our actions blur the lines between holy and common. I am so guilty of this. Out of a fear of legalism and sectarianism, I can instead be syncretistic, indistinguishable from the greater culture.

If the modern Protestant Church is indistinguishable from the greater culture, this and this alone is why.

This early morning we elders had to wrestle with a problem; one that did not present an easy, air-tight answer. We did arrive at a conclusion, but not without some heartburn.

Then within the hour I found myself reading Leviticus chapters 11-13. And I wondered. Did our conclusion best represent cleanliness over uncleanliness?

At least in this case, it might have done just that. Even if I didn't like it.

-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church Juneau