Lessons from Naaman - Part 4

And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.” (2 Kings 5:5-7 ESV). First of all, Naaman didn’t follow directions. He was supposed to go to a prophet, not a king. Of course, Naaman, the second in command in Aram, was not used to going to lowly prophets for advice. He was on the “A” list, and he was used to going straight to the king! When he does this time, however, the king doesn’t know quite how to respond. Have you ever felt “out of your league”? That’s the way the king of Israel felt. I can hear him saying, “Who me? I can do a lot of things, but I can’t produce life.” I have heard a lot of talk recently about human cloning. There have been tremendous advancements in the science of creation. However, I’m willing to go out on a limb and declare that we will never be able to actually create life. As advanced as we may get there will be that one last step that we will not be able to duplicate. It is the bringing of life where there was none. Without the help from the Creator of life, there simply will not be life! Sure, you might be able to genetically alter cells to form the cells necessary for reproduction, but who made the cells? Who made the knowledge of what life is? And, where did it all begin? I’ll tell you where, God created it! God spoke and there man was! God made life and God controls life! Period! The king couldn’t help Naaman, because as great a king as he may have been, he had no control over life! Neither does mankind today. We are not gods. When we confuse the roles of Creator and created, it will always lead to destructive ends. God’s power is unlimited, while man’s power is not. A young boy traveling by airplane to visit his grandparents sat beside a man who happened to be a seminary professor. The boy was reading a Sunday school take-home paper when the professor thought he would have some fun with the lad. “Young man,” said the professor, “If you can tell me something God can do, I’ll give you a big, shiny apple.” The boy thought for a moment and then replied, “Mister, if you can tell me something God can’t do, I’ll give you a whole barrel of apples!” In who’s power are you trusting?