SPIRITUAL SALVATION

2 Kings 5:15
Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.
---------------------------------------------

In Scripture, leprosy denotes sin - man’s true spiritual condition without the saving grace (spiritual healing) of God’s salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. In the time of Jesus, a leper was considered unclean and had to be isolated from society to a certain degree. Wherever he went, he was to cry out, “unclean, unclean,” and he had to wear black with a hood covering his face and live outside the city walls.

Sin is like this. It separates us from God, for we are unclean. Because of man’s separation from God - because of his spiritually dead condition and the hardness of his soul - he becomes insensitive, callused, restless and never satisfied. We often does not experience severe pain anymore because of our sins and waywardness. Finally, the leprosy of sin destroys the pleasantness and beauty God meant for mankind in His creation.

The healing of Naaman, the leper who leads the Aramean army, is not just a story of the healing of a man from one of the most dreaded diseases of ancient times. It is a story of salvation, one which illustrates the spiritual salvation man finds only in Jesus Christ and how men come to find that salvation in Christ.

Moreover, we knew in our heart that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life – our only salvation. And yet, we sometimes keep a hardened heart. Our disobedience, like that of Naaman, keeps us from attaining salvation. Because of our pride and ego, we want to follow our own way and not God’s way. Listen to our loved ones. Listen to our elders and friends like Naaman. When he finally listened and followed what God, through Elijah, has instructed him, “his flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” Become a new creature by faith in our Lord. Follow Him and be cleanse of our sins.

Almighty Father, we pray for all who are in need of healing. We pray for all who are disabled by injury or illness. We pray for all who are troubled by confusion or pain. We pray for all about to undergo surgery. We pray for patients here at the hospital and their loved ones. Lord, hear the spoken and unspoken prayers in our hearts and minds. Amen.

Athirst is my soul for the living God.