Who Can Be Saved?

We heard a homily in mass on the following passages of the Gospel:

19:23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
19:24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
19:25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
(from the Gospel according to Matthew)
(Compare to Mark 10:24-26 and Luke 18:24-26)

The explanation we heard was centered on the gates in the wall around Jerusalem. One gate was supposedly called the Eye of the Needle, and was a low gate through which sheep could pass easily, but which a camel would have to be on its knees to pass through. Similarly, a loaded camel (or any kind of an animal, really) would need to be unloaded first, as it would not be able to pass through the gate fully loaded with whatever it was carrying.

It makes for a nice story.

The image we have of a needle, used for sewing, is that it has an eye that is obviously too small for hardly anything to pass through it, much less a camel. Thus, it is impossible for a camel to go through it, so it is similarly impossible for a rich man to be saved. This goes over big with poor people in church: while they don't have a great deal in this life, at least things will be evened out some in the afterlife.

Of course, God has given some people riches. This in no way means that God does not intend these people to be saved. Here, of course, I disagree with many Christian groups who believe that some people were not intended to be saved. It's funny how people who say that always seem to have a smile on their faces, since they consider themselves part of the group that was intended to be saved.

Anyway, as the homily went, it is not impossible for a rich man to be saved, just difficult, as it would be for a camel to go through this gate. And, just as the camel has to lose its burden, so does the rich man have to unburden himself some, and worry about heavenly things, and not earthly riches. It is important for the rich man to realize where his wealth (and his very existence) comes from, and be generous not just toward the Lord, but doing the Lord's work. Finally, it is nice to realize the need to humble oneself before God, and this is of course symbolized by the camel on its knees going through this gate for sheep.

Intrigued, I looked up this gate on the internet, and found no website that explained where the gate was or anything like that. There are sites that map out the ancient gates of Jerusalem, but no such "Eye of the Needle" gate was to be found. I did find several sites where this story is repeated, for homilies, and some sites that claimed that it is only in Sunday School that such a gate exists. Apparently, this story crept into Christian teachings in recent centuries, but is not based in fact.

Okay, so what?

Well, let's think about this: imagine a camel, a big animal, going through the eye of the kind of a needle we sew with. Impossible! But, all things are possible with God.

God did not intend that anyone be lost, but rather that all be saved.

Impossible?

So, was there really such a gate in the wall around Jerusalem? It is an interesting question, and important to historians and archeologists, but does it really matter?

Our concern is the gate to Heaven. We need to understand that Jesus is about screening us in, not screening us out, but we need to do what He wants for that to happen, and that certainly may mean unloading some of our burdens, and relying more on our Creator than on earthly riches.

Seeking the Lord vs. Hiding from the Lord

An email came in from a young lady who has had many problems in her life, and who has made many mistakes.... Now she is seeking the Lord's help in her life.

The key part of my response:


The Lord created you unique, He loves you, and He wants to help you.

Turn to the Lord, just as you are, and let Him take it from there.

For details, read on...

3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"
3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
3:3 "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' "
3:4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.
3:5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
3:8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
3:9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"
3:10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
(from the Book of Genesis)

This is an interesting passage. Adam does something he knows he's not supposed to do, and then God walks through the garden, so Adam hides. Then God asks "Where are you?"

Wait a minute! Don't You know? Aren't You God?

Of course He knows where Adam is. He knows where Adam is and what Adam has done. The question was not for God's sake, but for Adam's sake, so Adam would admit what he had done. Once Adam acknowledges his mistake, God begins the healing process. But, the first step is that we need to admit that we have a problem. And, if we don't know that we have a problem, or don't want to admit it, God can help us there, too.

To not admit that there is a problem is to "stick your head in the sand", or to hide behind a tree from God, like Adam did. Adam's real problem wasn't that he had sinned; his real problem was that, by hiding himself from God, by distancing himself from his Creator, he was in real danger of getting into far more serious trouble. (Keep in mind, that serpent was still out there!)

Contrast that to Zacchaeus:

19:1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
19:2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.
19:3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.
19:4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.
19:5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."
19:6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.
19:7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."
19:8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."
19:9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;
19:10 "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
(from the Gospel according to Luke)

Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Tax collectors in those days in that part of the world were corrupt; they were extortioners. Yet, rather than hide his sinful self behind a tree as Adam had done (and as I always want to do), Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Jesus. Of course, Jesus already knew all about Zacchaeus, including Zacchaeus' sinful life; but, because Zacchaeus did not hide from Him, but rather made himself very visible so Jesus could enter his life, salvation came to Zacchaeus' house that day.

And in the same way, by seeking God's help, salvation has come to your house today.

God is God --

Rev 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty."

There is nothing that He can't do!

Don't think for a moment that you have done something so bad, or that you are so far gone, or whatever, that your Creator can't save you -- after all, it was He Who created the Earth and everything on it, Who created the Heavens and everything in them, Who created the Sea and everything in it. There is nothing He can't do. The only danger is that you might try to hide yourself from Him, in which case you would be in danger, because that serpent is still out there. In admitting your problems and inviting Him into your life, you've already done the part that is hardest for you. Now He will take it from here -- just make sure that you keep inviting Him in, again and again, and thanking Him for everything.

Don't wait until you do this or achieve that -- don't put it off. Turn to Him now, just as you are. He does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.

John 15:16 "You did not choose Me, but I chose you..."

There is nothing He can't fix, and Jesus, Who hung on that cross for you, will not abandon you now. He didn't abandon you then when He was being tortured and hung out to die, He will not abandon you now.

Just keep inviting Him in and thanking Him, and before you know it, your life will be a miracle.

Adult Child Going Astray

Over at Gangstyle.com:

he is 23 doing everything I dont want him to be doing, he has disowned me, because I said it is not good, how do I handle it, how do parents handle it thank you Cathie

My thoughts:

Prayer.

Under those circumstances, you can sure understand what the Lord goes through. Starting in the Garden of Eden, and especially today, so many people have disowned Him and do everything the He knows is not good, everything that He knows leads only trouble, everything that He has warned us not to do.

He understands that there comes a time when the kids need to go make their own mistakes, so that the mess that they get themselves into humbles them a little, so that they are then open to hearing a little wisdom. Short of that, many kids think they know something about everything, and don't have time for learning from experiences of people who have made the mistakes already, or who know where some roads take a person. Often times, even making those mistakes themselves doesn't seem to do it for our kids.

In the following passage from Isaiah, we can easily envision an angry God striking at the inhabitants of the earth:

65:2 I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
65:3 A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;...

65:11 "But you are those who forsake the Lord,
Who forget My holy mountain,
Who prepare a table for Gad,
And who furnish a drink offering for Meni.
65:12 Therefore I will number you for the sword,
And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;
Because, when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not hear,
But did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight."

Yet, the Lord is not about "getting" us for what we do. Quite the opposite, He does a great deal to show us the right way, and to convince us to be on it. But, ultimately, He will respect our choice. And our choices to walk in ways that are not good lead to consequences that are not good.

Put another way, the Lord doesn't have to take vengeance on us; we take vengeance on ourselves. He tries to convince us not to. But, it may only be when we goof things up enough that we finally make ourselves ready to listen to His wisdom.

Similarly, it may only be after your son has goofed some things up that he appreciates that his mom, while not perfect (no one is), does love him and does try her best to keep him from making mistakes which are obvious to her.

"he is 23" "he has disowned me"

He's an adult, and you need to face the possibility that there is nothing you can do, other than prayer. And, like the Lord, Who is there for us waiting for us to return, no matter how far astray we go, you can do your son a service by being there for him to take him back when he returns, no matter how far astray he goes.

"how do parents handle it"

That's my take on how our Father handles it, and a suggestion for you.

It's not easy.

Imagine how He felt, watching His Son on the cross.... And that was not His Son's doing, that was our doing!

Knowledge and Wisdom

An interesting article:
Final tearful plea as embryo fight fails.

A WOMAN left infertile after cancer therapy yesterday made a final plea to her ex-partner for permission to use frozen embryos, after her five-year legal fight ended in failure.

Natallie Evans broke down in tears as she spoke of her anguish at the prospect of never becoming a mother using her own embryos.

The 35-year-old appealed to her former partner, Howard Johnston, to change his mind and allow her to use the eggs he fertilised in 2001. The embryos are due to be destroyed within 28 days, after the European Court of Human Rights yesterday ruled against her.

She said: "I am distraught at the court's decision. It is very hard for me to accept the embryos will now be destroyed and I will never become a mother.

"Whilst a lot has been said about the rights of Mr Johnston, I was fighting for my right to be a mother and the rights of the embryos.

"I would ask Howard to consider whether he could permit me to have the children I long for, and which he was happy to consent to when the procedure took place to create these embryos."

Asked if she would make a last-ditch appeal to Mr Johnston, she said: "I have pleaded with him before and it has not worked; now there is nothing I can say to him.

"Last time I pleaded with him and asked him, 'Please rethink', and he didn't. He said nothing is going to change his mind."

Mr Johnston, 30, said he and Ms Evans had discussed other ways she might become a mother when the couple were undergoing IVF.

He said: "Being a mother is still an option to [Ms Evans] that does not involve me.

"I had hoped that commonsense and the legal framework would hold up. I'm grateful and relieved that it has done so."

Mr Johnston added:

"I don't think I have acted selfishly. If you turn this on its head and if I was infertile with a new partner, I wouldn't expect Natallie consenting to me using them."

He said he had not spoken to Ms Evans, but acknowledged she had been through an "emotional rollercoaster".

He added: "I've had every sympathy with Natallie from the first moment I knew I didn't want to have children with her, and it's the same now.

"I don't regret meeting her. At one point in our relationship, she was Miss Right."

The human rights judges said the central dilemma was an "entirely irreconcilable" conflict between Natallie and her former boyfriend. The issues raised by the case were "undoubtedly of a morally and ethically delicate nature", said the judgment.

There is currently no standard European approach to questions in the field of IVF.

The UK is not alone in permitting the storage of embryos and giving both partners the right to withdraw consent up to the moment of implantation, but different rules and practices are applied elsewhere in Europe.

There is no European consensus about the stage in IVF treatment when the sperm donor's consent becomes irrevocable.

LAST HOPE OF MOTHERHOOD
Q: Why did Natallie Evans have the embryos frozen?

A: In 2001, her ovaries were removed after pre-cancerous cells were found. The treatment would leave her infertile, so she first underwent in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) with then partner Howard Johnston. His sperm fertilised her eggs and six embryos were frozen - her only chance of having her own children.

Q: What is the process for IVF from frozen embryos?

A: Embryos are frozen in liquid nitrogen. They can be stored for up to five years.

There's a great deal here. Let me boil it down for you.

First, human life begins at conception. If that is not the starting point, then what is? Birth?

Births occur naturally after pregnancies of different lengths of time; for example, nine months and one week vs. eight months and three weeks. Additionally, the labor can be induced medically, and operational procedures can result in a birth without labor. No matter how it happens, the baby can be expected to come out alive and living. That means the baby was alive and living inside "Mom". Consequently, to suggest that "birth" is when human life begins is quite arbitrary; it just doesn't pass the idiot test.

Even more foolishly has it been argued that humal life begins when a person is sentient, conscious, self-aware. This is extremely sinister, since self-awareness is hard to prove. A computer could be programmed to appear to be self-aware. Conversely, a person who, for whatever reason, has difficulty sensing surroundings or communicating about them, could appear to be not self-aware.

For that matter, how do I know that you are self-aware?

If sentience is the yardstick by which human life is measured, then there is no such thing as murder, and the door is wide open for a madman to decide that no one exists besides himself, and decide to abort all of humanity.

Human life begins at conception. That is when our Creator establishes the connection between an other-worldly spirit or soul and the this-worldly biological entity of a fertilized egg.

Once that is understood, then it logically and obviously follows that abortion is murder. So is the destruction of these "fertilized embryos".

When Mr. Johnston agreed to fertilize Ms. Evans' eggs, he became a father to her offspring. Those children are now held in limbo under what appears to be a death sentence.

It's amazing what science can do.

2:1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,
2:2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
[...]
2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
2:10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2:11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
2:12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

(from the Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians)

Humanity has eaten of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Now, that knowledge is advancing far, far beyond our "wisdom" to deal with it, and, instead of serving us, we have come to serve it.

It is time to eat of the Tree of Wisdom, Which is God.

26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."
26:27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.
26:28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
26:29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom."
(From the Gospel according to Matthew)

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is the Tree of Death. The Tree of Wisdom, the Tree of Knowledge of the Lord, is the Tree of Life, Which stands in the middle of the Garden of Eden.

23:39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."
23:40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
23:41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."
23:42 Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."
23:43 And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."
(From the Gospel according to Luke)

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
Psalm 46:10

"Lord, remember when You come into Your Kingdom."

In The Beginning was Vegetarianism

1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
1:29 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.
1:30 "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so.
1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
(from the Book of Genesis)

It's fun debating with people about what God intended us to eat. I tell some Christians that I'm a vegetarian, and mention Christianity as one reason why, and many of them during the discussion wind up pointing out the Mosaic provision where Moses, giving the law to the ancient Hebrews in the desert, gave the children of Israel a big, long list of animals that they can eat.

So, I ask, is a man allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason? Of course, I am leading them to this passage:

19:3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"
19:4 And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'
19:5 "and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
19:6 "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."
19:7 They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"
19:8 He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so."
(from the Gospel according to Matthew)

Moses permitted divorce, but that came about after The Fall, after Original Sin -- after we were booted out of the Garden of Eden. In The Beginning it was not so.

So, then, I ask them if man is permitted to eat just any animals. Of course there is the Mosaic list of what animals can and cannot be eaten. It's a fairly long list.

People then typically point to the passage in Chapter 7 of Mark or Chapter 15 of Matthew (the account in Mark is a little better for our purposes) where our Lord explains that it is not what goes into a person that defiles, but rather what comes out -- the evil thoughts and evil actions. Of course, the explanation is intended to draw attention away from the ceremonies of the Pharisees (handwashing) and towards the intent behind the law; that is, after all, what Jesus had been doing all along. Many people understand that passage to abrogate Mosaic Law regarding foods.

I, however, disagree with that understanding.

5:17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
5:18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."
(from the Gospel according to Matthew)

My question then follows: was it so in The Beginning? I usually get blank looks in response.

God gave us the plants as food. We have dominion over the animals. God also gave the plants as food for the animals. We were not intended to eat animals, neither were animals intended to eat each other. We were intended to have dominion over animals -- they would be our companions, friends, "pets" -- but we, and they, were intended to eat plants.

People eating animals (and animals eating each other) came later, after The Fall.

As we approach Easter, we are in Great Lent. Check the Orthodox links in the sidebar and learn about the lenten fast. Pay particular attention to what one may and may not consume, and when. One of the main things we are to avoid is animal-based products. Many of the rules deal with which animal-based products can be eaten, and when.

For me, it's easier. I avoid animal-based products all the time -- just like we were supposed to do all along.

Gen 1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

Lady Mocha's Story

Posted about a year and half ago over at Gangstyle.com:

My Date Rape by Lady Mocha

12 of them
1 of me
raped for 4 hours straight
raped viciously
couldnt fend for myself
i was barely 13
the youngest G member 21
the leader,43
they pushed me down a hill
so no one could see
it was there that
whatever they wanted to pursue
would be done successfuly
2 G members pinned my arms
up over my head
another 2 G members
stripped me and parted my legs
the leader went first
then one of the G members said
" ayo homie your hogging all the pussy
that shit aint fair"
bout 20 mins past then the leader declared
" look homie,theres enough to go around
you're gon get your share"
i felt like a prisoner
with a life sentence without bail
the shock of the attack was choking me
making it hard for me to breathe
i was paralysed i couldnt even
inhale or exhale
not 1 of them quit
without cumming inside
i remember saying to myself
if i end up pregnant
ima commit suicide
they were all over me
licking me,kissing me
saying they aint never seen
a girl as beautiful as me
4 hours passed
and the G members were satisfied
you'd think they'd atleast have a speck
of sympathy or remorse inside
but you could just tell
they're hearts were cold
stone cold infact
it was all in thier eyes
the G members think
they stripped me of eveything
HUH,they only stripped me of my clothes
I STILL HAVE MY DIGNITY!!!


xoxMochaxox

For those of you who don't know Mocha (I know her some from online), she's a wonderful person. God has set aside a special place for people like her, where she'll get to meet more wonderful people, including our Savior and His Mom, and where she will get to spend quality time with them....

3:8 "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
3:9 "Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie -- indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
3:10 "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
3:11 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown."
(from the Revelation of St. John the Divine)

God has also set aside a special place for the people who did that to her. They will get to meet all kinds of interesting people -- people just like themselves -- and they will get to interact with those people, and spend quality time with them... a great deal of quality time....

1:2 God is jealous, and the Lord avenges;
The Lord avenges and is furious.
The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies;
1:3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked.
(from the Book of the Prophet Nahum)

66:4 "So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
Because, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight."
(from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah)

Some Lessons from Naaman

The story of Naaman, from the Second Book of Kings, NKJV (Fourth Book of Kings in Orthodox Translations):

5:1 Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.
5:2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman's wife.
5:3 Then she said to her mistress, "If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy."
5:4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, "Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel."
5:5 Then the king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.
5:6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.
5:7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me."
5:8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel."
5:9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha's house.
5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean."
5:11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, "Indeed, I said to myself, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.'
5:12 "Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage.
5:13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?"
5:14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Here is Naaman, a great warrior and military leader. He answers directly to his (earthly) king, and represents his king before other kings. He is an important man in his time and place. Yet, notice how God works in his life through a slave girl, through Naaman's own servants, and through something quite ordinary for the time: a bath in a river.

Often God works in our lives in ways that we don't notice. If God were more theatrical, constantly working big, showy miracles (like what Naaman expected to see), miracles that obviously could come only from Him, more people would obey Him -- out of fear! (Or would they? -- more on that in a moment!) That does not seem to be what He wants. Instead, He wants people to seek Him out of faith.

Originally, He gave humanity instructions on what to do to be happy in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve rebelled, and now we have thousands of years of human history, much of which is misery.

He also gave humanity advice through His prophets and through His Son. Many people don't pay much attention to His advice, and the misery continues. Even "good Christians" goof things up every day.

So, despite how bad we have goofed things up in this world, we insist on not following His advice and on doing things our own way. Rather than beating us over the head with the fact that He is God (and we're not!), He allows us to make our mistakes. At some point, if nothing else out of desperation, we start looking for something more than what we have here, which is woefully inadequate, and then we begin to seek Him.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

So, God works in our lives in ways that are often low-key, through ways that we might not notice, and through people that we often would not pay attention to. In the case of this story of the mighty warrior Naaman, He worked in his life first through a slave girl.

Later, the prophet Elisha sends Naaman to wash in the Jordan River, which is hardly an impressive place to bathe; even in Biblical times, it was rather polluted. Expecting some great miracle, Naaman, who wasn't even greeted by the prophet himself, was offended, thinking that he had been "had" and played for a fool. After all, if a mere bath could cleanse him, would not a bath in water that was actually clean be more useful?

Angry, Naaman was leaving, but those accompanying him saved the day. Again, the focus may have been on the prophet here, but in many ways it was the ordinary people in Naaman's life that convinced him to give this bath in the Jordan a try, rather than just calling it a wasted trip at that point. So, having traveled to see this prophet, Naaman went ahead and bathed in the Jordan River, as instructed, and...

It worked! He was cleansed of his leprosy!

What's the point of all this?

If someone were standing in front of you parting the Red Sea and sending plagues on your hometown, you would pay attention to him, right? After all, those miracles are pretty impressive. Seeing is believing, right?

Maybe you wouldn't pay a whole lot of attention. After a while, parting the Red Sea wouldn't be so impressive any more, and you might be tempted to say, "Hey, if God is really working here, let's see the Atlantic Ocean get parted!" Our threshhold for the miraculous would just keep climbing.

Instead of playing that game, God does it His way. He has given us instructions and advice, which we typically don't heed. So, He works in our lives in subtle ways and through people who, to us, seem relatively inconsequential. He asks us to do ordinary things, but to do them in faith, and to do these things with Him.

It is usually only after we turn to Him in faith and start doing things with Him that we begin to notice all the little things in our world that He is setting in place for us.

Who was it who said that some things have to be believed to be seen?

Believe in Him, believe that He is a Rewarder of those who seek Him, and begin to see the miracles all around you!