Life, Love, and Leprosy

I've been reading through Leviticus as a part of the Bible in 90 days program, and let me tell you, it's been challenging. I find it very difficult (and kind of gross) to visualize the laws and sacrifices Moses describes in the Old Testament which makes paying attention to the details very tedious. I often find my mind wandering to other things instead of focusing on the words of God in front of me.

I know God is speaking. I'm just not always interested in what He has to say. 

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It's easy to convince ourselves that the Old Testament books of law and prophecy are of little value to us as Christians. We don't live under the law. We don't have to worry about the dietary and sacrificial systems of the Old Testament (Praise the Lord!), so we often ignore them or breeze through them with no real understanding of their meaning. They just don't apply to us. 

We'd rather open our Bibles to find comfort, guidance, and encouragement, and let's be honest, those laws about leprosy just don't make the cut! We come to God with our own ideas about what we need and what we want to talk about. 

But I'm convinced that if we truly want to know God, then we are going to have to buckle down and study the difficult parts of Scripture. We are going to have to spend time in passages that are challenging and confusing (and slightly gross). We are going to have to lay aside our own agendas for quiet time and listen to what God has to say, even if He wants to talk about the blood of bulls and goats or the dimensions of the Tabernacle. 

I was reminded of this Truth driving home with my husband last night. We had an hour in the car together, and I talked the entire way home! I talked about babies, diapers, blogging, and cleaning schedules. None of which has any particular interest to my husband in the least. He'd rather talk about books and music and outdoorsy things.  However, he listened to me talk about my girly/mothery things for over an hour simply because he loves me. He's interested in who I am and what makes me tick. He may not always care for my topics of conversation, but he has a genuine desire to know me better and sometimes that means talking about the pros and cons of various diapering methods. 

The same is true of our relationship with God. If we love Him and truly desire to go deeper in our understanding of Him, then we have to spend the time listening to the things He's chosen to talk about. Those things reveal to us exactly who God is and what He desires for His people. They may not always be the topics I would choose, but my relationship with God isn't all about me. It's about giving God honor and glory and praise because of who He is and what He's done. 

So next time you start to read Leviticus, remember that the God who spoke to Moses is speaking to you too. He desires for you to know Him more and to love Him supremely. All you have to do is listen.