You don’t need to save mankind — that’s already been done.
Naaman was a Syrian general who had leprosy. He went to Elisha’s house expecting a grand miracle, but Elisha didn’t even come outside. He just sent a messenger telling Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan River.
Naaman was insulted. The Jordan was muddy, and he thought the command was beneath him. But his servants reasoned with him: “If the prophet had asked you to do something hard, you would have done it. Why not this simple thing?”
Naaman humbled himself, did as he was told, and was healed.
His pride almost kept him from it.
There’s a bit of Naaman in all of us.
We want to do good, solve problems, make an impact. But instead of doing the small things God puts in our path, we chase something big — something that might get us recognition.
See a hungry family on the street? You could hand them a meal.
Or you could decide to start a food pantry.
One looks “bigger,” but which one do you think God cares about in that moment?
We can’t see the whole picture or connect all of God’s dots. The one simple thing we dismiss may matter more than the results of our big plans.
A kind word, given at just the right time, might keep someone from a disastrous choice. You may never know all the future effects as they extend past your life here.
But we don’t need to see the future to do the right thing now.
The short-term results might not look like much, and if something happens far in the future it won’t be tied back to what you did today.
So nobody celebrates.
Maybe that’s the real problem — we want the pat on the back more than we want to obey God.
But God celebrates when we obey.
Remember the widow who put two pennies in the Temple box?
Jesus said she gave more than all the people giving large amounts for show.
The big job — saving the world — is finished. What God asks is smaller: just do what He puts in front of you. If we all did that, the world would look very different.
Naaman found healing in obedience. We might also.
PS – Last week I talked about how it might be a good idea to get a physical copy (or copies) of the Bible if you don’t already have one. Reading electronically is great, but there’s no guarantee it will always be available. It can be turned off with the flick of a switch.
Is it likely? Who knows. Is it possible? Certainly.
Is there any downside to having a hard copy of the most important book ever written?
You can buy one here on Amazon.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you buy something — anything — after clicking that link, I may receive a small commission. It doesn’t change your price.
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