{"id":1144,"date":"2013-10-17T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-17T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/10\/if-we-are-willing-part-2.html"},"modified":"2013-10-17T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-10-17T07:00:00","slug":"if-we-are-willing-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/10\/if-we-are-willing-part-2.html","title":{"rendered":"If We Are Willing-Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
by Stacy Dandridge<\/a>
R3 Contributor \n

In my last post,<\/a> I suggested that GOP members who want to \u201cdefund Obamacare\u201d remind me of the story of Jesus and the Leper. You know the lepers\u2026those persons we push to the margins. You know the lepers\u2026the mothers in our communities who come to church to worship God, but is made to feel less than because she has three children and no husband. You know the lepers\u2026the man who comes to church, serves in leadership, but is dying inside because there is no safe haven for him to discuss his struggles with alcohol, sex, and drugs. You know the lepers\u2026the teen that is visibly struggling with their sexuality, but can find no love amongst the people of God. The lepers\u2026the child who comes to church, watches their mom or dad serve in ministry, but returns home only to fall prey to parents who give attention through physical and sexual abuse. The lepers\u2026the ones who struggle financially while we continue to create programs and offer products that push them to live beyond their means. But the question I want to ask is \u201cwhat role do we play in the leprosy within our own communities?\u201d<\/p><\/span><\/span>
The affairs in our communities and churches require us to take healthcare beyond giving coverage to patients for a doctor\u2019s visit, but we must act to socially, economically, and spiritually restore the lepers among us. This can be done by touching them and meeting them at their need. No longer pushing them to the margins of society can place them on a path towards social restoration. No longer providing overpriced products and introducing programs that encourage stewardship can help them realize economic freedom. Opening up places of worship that are free of pretense can help prompt their spiritual growth.\n

Yes, it is true that as a nation we must follow through with implementing healthcare that provides coverage for all. But if we are willing to be more like Christ then we, the church and the sacred communities are responsible for providing healthcare that ministers to the mind, body, and soul. If we are willing to be His Disciples, we must be willing to do the work of ministry even if it means we become labeled as lepers ourselves. So, will we be willing to respond to the call of God to take care of the least of these? Will we respond to the lepers in our midst and say to them what Jesus says to this man, \u201cI am willing; be clean.\u201d
\u00a0<\/p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Will we be willing to give someone else a new reality? Will you be willing to extend moral, social, psychological, physical and even spiritual healthcare to the least of these? \n

Follow Stacy on Twitter @sddanridge<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/span>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Stacy DandridgeR3 Contributor In my last post, I suggested that GOP members who want to \u201cdefund Obamacare\u201d remind me of the story of Jesus and the Leper. You know the lepers\u2026those persons we push to the margins. You know the lepers\u2026the mothers in our communities who come to church to worship God, but is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nIf We Are Willing-Part 2<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"by Stacy DandridgeR3 Contributor In my last post, I suggested that GOP members who want to "defund Obamacare" remind me of the story of Jesus and the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/10\/if-we-are-willing-part-2.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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