Course Corrections

Have you ever watched a small boy pretend to drive? Invariably he puts his little hands on his pretend steering wheel and moves the wheel back and forth continually. This has always struck me a strange. Why does he do that?

Surprisingly, he does that because that is exactly what he sees when he watches adults drive. We may think that we hold the wheel steady as we drive, but really we are continually making small adjustments to the wheel. Even on a relatively straight road we make little adjustments to keep the car in the right lane position, adjust to slight curvature in the road, or to correct for slight errors in direction -- I am particularly aware of this right now, teaching two teenage daughters to drive.

If you don't believe it, just try closing your eyes on a "straight" road for 20 seconds. As straight as the road may seem, we can't afford to neglect steering. Even a very slight deviation will cause your car to leave the road before very long.

Obviously, my aim here has little to do with driving instruction.

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Hebrews 2:1-3 (emphasis is mine)

Just as with driving, we need to give diligence to our spiritual direction. We need to make corrections to stay on course. We can't afford to neglect the direction of our spiritual journey. If we do so we are sure to drift. The rhetorical question, "How shall we escape?", has an obvious answer. We won't. How tragic it would be if, after having received God's grace and the gift of salvation, we lost it through neglect.

Where are you? Are you keeping it between the lines? Are you still on course, or have you become side-tracked? What course corrections do you need to make?

-PG

Lo, I Thought

In 2 Kings 5 the text describes how Elisha healed Naaman of leprosy. Although he was a leper, Naaman was the commander of the Syrian armies. When Naaman came to Elisha's home, Elisha didn't even come out to see him, but sent a messenger who told him, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times and you will be healed."

I don't know why God through Elisha chose this method of healing. Perhaps Naaman needed humbling, so instead of actually seeing and speaking with the prophet a servant was sent to him. In any event, Naaman didn't appreciate it. He was furious, clearly taking offense at the lack of respect the prophet displayed toward him.

Besides, this just wasn't the way this was supposed to happen. Naaman said, "Lo, I thought, '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.'" Naaman was looking for some ceremony, some demonstration of miraculous power on the part of the prophet. He was so put off he nearly went home without following the prophet's instructions.

Naaman's attitude is not unusual. So many turned away from Jesus during his earthly ministry because He didn't fit what they had in mind for a Messiah. When His teachings were hard to understand or difficult to accept, they "walked no more with Him" (John 6:66). We should know better. Isaiah 55:8-9 states the obvious, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways, says the Lord." But we seem intent on fashioning a God after our image. We need to remember, "Know that Jehovah, He is God. He has made us, not we ourselves."

An obvious parallel with Naaman's situation is the New Testament doctrine of baptism. In Acts 2:38 Peter told those assembled to "Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." In Acts 22:16 Paul was told, "Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins." In Mark 16:16 we are told, "Those who believe and are baptized will be saved." The New Testament clearly teaches that water baptism (immersion) into Christ is the point at which we are cleansed of our sins -- saved.

But many stumble on baptism. They immediately start in with "Lo, I thought..." "I don't see what baptism has to do with the forgiveness of my sins." "Why baptism?" "I feel that I'm already saved, but I haven't been baptized." I could attempt to answer these questions, but the bottom line is this: God chose baptism. Are you going to submit, obey and be saved, or not?

If Naaman had packed up and gone back to Syria the story would have ended tragically. But, with some good advice from his servants, Naaman did eventually wash in the Jordan as he was told. He was healed as promised. What will you do?

-PG