Recently, my family and I traveled via plane on our vacation. While boarding the plane, I noticed a handful of people, sitting in different areas of the plane who were wearing surgical masks. The Swine Flu outbreak was at full tilt.
These folks were taking extra precaution to protect themselves from the virus. Regardless of how well the air purifiers were working on that plane, one cough or one sneeze by an infected person would pollute the air around them. The sickness would contaminate the pure air.
During our vacation, we visited a large metropolitan city. While there we traveled often on public trains and subways. As those who have done so know, it is nearly impossible to ride such trains without grabbing onto one of the many bars or loops to remain steady in transit.
When I placed my clean hand on one of those handrails, my hands became infected by the germs of thousands of passengers who had grabbed that rail previously. No matter how many times I’d washed my hands that day, no matter how many times I’d used hand-sanitizer, when my clean hands contacted that oft-touched rail, germs contaminated my clean hands.
So it is in the natural world. Germs, dirt, and viruses contaminate things that are pure.
But it’s very different in the Kingdom of God.
In the ninth chapter of Matthew when the woman with the issue of blood reached-out and touched Jesus’ garment, she was made well. Though she was declared unclean by Jewish law, rather than her uncleanness contaminating Christ, His profound purity removed her sickness and made her completely whole.
It was reverse contamination.
In the eighth chapter of Matthew, it was the leper who pleaded with Christ to make him whole. Jesus, without hesitation, reached out and touched the man, saying “be cleansed”. And he was. Though the leper was unclean under Jewish law, when he was touched by the Holiest of All, the unclean was made absolutely clean.
Reverse contamination.
And so it is in the Kingdom of God to this day.
When we come to Christ with our imperfections, faults, short-comings, errors, sins; He is never contaminated by our presence. Rather, when we reach out to touch Him, when we offer our imperfect lives into the power of His Spirit, we too are cleansed. We too are made whole. We are made entirely pure.
Our sin never contaminates Christ. Rather, His holiness purifies our sin.
It’s reverse contamination.
