Have I Tried God’s Remedy?
Naaman’s
servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do
some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he
tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 2 Kings 5:13 (NIV)
We have heard them all before: “Nothing in
life is free”; “Nothing worth having comes easy”; and “You get what you pay
for.” These expressions remind us that hard work and persistence are essential
to make a difference, to succeed, or to get where we are going in life. The statements
express that we are often skeptical of receiving anything that we do not have
to pay for or did not earn. When something is free, we are tempted to think, what
is wrong with it? Unfortunately, we can be guilty of carrying these ideas over
into our understanding of salvation, which means that we may hopelessly be trying
to purchase or work hard for that which is freely offered to us by God.
Naaman was a man of great power and influence,
and he was popular and highly respected. As the commander of the Syrian army,
he would have had to work hard to rise through the ranks and into his highly respected
and powerful position. Naaman also was considered a mighty man of valor, and
the Lord used him to bring great victory to Syria. But Naaman had one fatal flaw:
he had leprosy, which was a dreaded and incurable disease that would spread
quickly throughout a person’s body. And because of the devastating effects of
leprosy and its incurable nature, the disease is often considered to be a
picture in the Bible of the devastating effects of sin.
Despite all the power and influence that
Naaman had, he remained powerless to cure himself. When sin is involved, we are
all like Naaman: powerless to cure ourselves of this deadly disease. Having
tried everything he could think of to make himself whole again, neither Naaman
nor anyone else could do anything to reverse the effects of his leprosy.
Here, the grace of God was extended to
Naaman through the prophet Elisha, as Elisha called for Naaman to come to him.
Naaman proudly arrived with a large entourage and was fully prepared to pay a
great price for a personal miracle at the hands of this man of God. But to Naaman’s
surprise and dismay, Elisha simply conveyed a message for Naaman to go to the
Jordan River and wash in the waters seven times. With his pride wounded, Naaman
refused.
Naaman eventually was healed as he let go
of his pride, humbled himself, and by faith trusted in God’s remedy. If we let go
of our pride, humble ourselves, confess our sins to God, and place our trust in
Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, then we will be healed. When we come to God, we
must be willing to abandon self-importance and realize that we cannot work
harder to gain the grace of God. We must recognize that the forgiveness of sin
is not for sale, but the free gift of God. All we must do is be willing to
receive God’s remedy.
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