Naaman, the commander of the army of the King of Syria had been struck with leprosy. There was no cure. However, a young girl who had been captured from Israel said to her mistress, Naaman’s wife, that there was a prophet in Samaria who could cure him. Naaman agreed, with the expectation a great miracle would be done. However, when he went to Elisha the prophet, he was told by Elisha’s servant to simply dip seven times in the Jordan River in order to be cleansed. This was too humiliating for Naaman; the Jordan was far inferior to the great rivers of Syria; he felt slighted that Elisha did not come out and meet him. He left for home, discouraged and angry. However, his servants demonstrated their love and respect for their master by encouraging him to reconsider. But his servants came near and said to him, “My father it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash and be clean’” (2 Kings 5.13)? The condition was simple: wash, in the river and the leprosy would be gone. He submitted, washed, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean (5.14).
What an amazing illustration for us. We are Naaman; leprosy is sin. We are covered, filled, encapsulated with the incurable disease of sin, having no hope for restoration, no hope for being clean. There is nothing we can do; there is no treatment, no balm, no work, no decision – nothing that we can do. That is, without Jesus. The only thing we can do is go to the cross and be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. Only through His sacrificial blood; only through Christ, only in submitting to His Word, His love, His authority, His grace and mercy, only in admitting we are filled with sin, only in declaring there is nothing we can do; only in confessing Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Messiah can we be cleansed of the incurable disease of sin – which in Christ alone is curable, now and forever.
In Christ, cleansed from all sin – we have much to be thankful for –
Terry Burlingame
My Morning Desk 