The Little Evangelist
2 Kings 5:3
|
The
challenge of a young and fearless slave girl - turned housemaid in using
opportunity to become a redeemer to a higher official is a remarkable
illustration of a passionate evangelist. Her timely intervention in a
devastated human life gives an official a new lease of life and the
experience of a new birth through a focus to meet the prophet of the Living
God! She has many messages to preach to us to create a passion in us to share
the good news to all who are around. It’s the beginning of a touch of a life
of sharing God and His power. Read
on… |
A Sensitized Young
Evangelist
Here is the story of a little
evangelist who brought good news to a deeply hurting family in Syria. The
youngest and most underprivileged evangelist who is pictured in the Bible is this
little slave girl from Israel in a foreign land. She lived during the time of
Prophet Elisha. She was isolated from her family and dear ones and taken away
as a slave to Syria. Her place of worship and sacrifices was away in Israel.
She had no one to enjoy a time of fellowship with. Her coworkers would have
been soldiers who are posted to serve in the home of a higher army official.
But this little evangelist kept her eyes open to see the inner needs of the
family she was serving. We do not know her name or details about her family. Even
in her insecure circumstance, she was well aware of the fact that she was
serving God rather than man. She was an
evangelist who carried the message of good news to the needy at the right time.
Upbringing
This little slave girl apparently was
fully aware of the ministry and the miracles of Prophet Elisha. She would have
heard about the prophet from her household and neighbors. She certainly was a
believer in Jehovah and His prophets. She would have heard of the miracles
performed by the prophet through the power of Jehovah. It is most likely that
her family discussed about the power of Jehovah demonstrated through Prophet
Elisha during her childhood. Thus she developed a life of faith in Jehovah
which she was ready to share with the needy people around.
Need awareness
Our little evangelist knew what it meant
to know people and their physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. She
knew from her host family and acquaintances about the awful disease of leprosy her
master was affected with. But she was convinced that Jehovah God is able to
cure this disease and to give a new lease of life for Naaman and his family.
She knew that if only her master would submit to the God of Elisha for cure
from the dreadful disease, he would find full healing. She had compassion for
Naaman her master and his family. She teaches us that we should all be
concerned about the incurable disease of sin in the people we come across and lead
them to God who heals.
Fearless girl
A small slave girl would be naturally
fearful to speak openly to her mistress about a social and incurable disease of
the master of the house. It’s natural to think that involving with a personal
matter of the family and its master is none of her business. It would then be
possible to expect reprimand and brutal punishment if she speaks about the
weaknesses of the family she was serving. But our little evangelist was not at
all afraid of repercussions. Her thought would be to see how she could help
this family even by risking her life and status as a slave. Her demeanor is an
outstanding example for us to share the good news that Jesus can and will cure
the sin sickness of the persons whom we are acquainted with. She was fearless
because she was under the control of the Spirit of God. Today every believer
needs to follow the example of this slave girl in communicating gospel to the
lost world without fear of consequences.
Language not a
deterrent
It sounds strange that this slave
girl was able to communicate to her mistress about the dire need of her family.
We do not know if she knew the language of Syria. So she would have used a few
common words used in the Middle East. She would have also used signs and body
language with compassionate facial expression. It is also likely that she
learned the language of Syria over a period of time. But we can be sure that
she took effort to communicate the good news about Jehovah and His prophet
Elisha somehow to her mistress. For a willing heart, language is not a serious
deterrent in communicating gospel. Genuineness of intentions would pave the way
to communicate about what God can do in the lives of people affected with sin
sicknesses.
Timely action
Our slave girl wasted no time in
communicating about the availability of help for her master to get cure. She
used the opportunity that came her way to convey about what God can and will do
for her master. We can assume that she used the earliest opportunity to
challenge the family to go to God through His prophet. She challenges us today
to use all the available avenue to share the good news that Jesus saves all
that would go to Him and to His servants with their spiritual needs.
Pointing to the right
person for help
The Bible tells us that the slave
girl pointed the family to the right person to go for help. She was definitely
a girl of faith and she knew that she should also pray for her master to get
cure. But as a slave girl, she had limitations about how to operationalize a
strategy to impart cure for her master. She could only recommend her master to
go to the prophet of Jehovah who would know how to impart cure. She made sure
that her master’s sickness would be handled by a servant of God who had wide
recognition in the community. We have to sometimes point sinners to people of
their social status to explain gospel and the cure available through Calvary.
Praise God that this slave girl was wise enough to point her master to the
right person. Recommending Prophet Elisha also meant that Naaman was pointed to
the land of Israel where Jehovah God works through the lives of His people and
His nation. This gives Naaman the right focus about from where salvation would
flow to him.
Right communication to
right person
The incident reveals to us the truth
that the slave girl knew how to reach out to her master. She wisely approached
her mistress to convey a truth. Her mistress developed faith and trust in the
slave girl largely through her testimony in her faithful service and character.
Her faithfulness in service and impeccable character stood as a pillar for her
mistress to believe in her suggestion. Such faithfulness and character will
often stand out as strong evidence of the testimony we give about our faith in
our Lord which will make our associates give ears to the power of the message
of gospel.
Positive affirmation
about the outcome
Our little evangelist was emphatic
about the outcome of approaching the prophet of God. Her firm and well
articulated suggestion was positive without the shadow of a doubt. No matter
what the extent of the master’s leprosy is, the slave girl had no doubts about
the outcome because she had full faith in the power of Jehovah God whom she and
her prophet served. She wanted her master to go and meet and get full and
positive result without the shadow of a doubt. But it was important that Naaman
had to rise up by faith from being a social outcast to go and meet the prophet.
She teaches us that every genuine seeker who approaches the Lord would find
full cure for their sin sickness.
Place of prayer
It’s safe to assume that while Naaman
was on his way, our slave girl was on her knees to pray for her master’s cure.
This is because the Jewish community was a praying community. It’s her earnest and
prayerful desire to point Naaman to the power of Jehovah to meet a genuine need.
A believer has to always pray for sin sickness to be cured in the lives of all
whom we approach directly or indirectly with the gospel.
The miracle that
follows
When a genuine and utterly needy
seeker approaches the Lord, he receives the touch of His grace to meet his
needs. Here we see Naaman getting instant cure from his leprosy. His skin became
like that of a child. There is now a new beginning of a new kind for Naaman. It
is the experience of a new birth. Our little slave evangelist was able to show
the way for Naaman to have a second birth with a new body and a renewed soul. Here
we see how Jehovah Rapha used a slave girl to lead Naaman to Him and to provide
complete cure of his sin sickness. We all need to follow the example of this
slave girl and lead people to Jehovah Rapha by faith so that sin sickness can
be healed.
Evangelistic zeal and
fervor
Our slave evangelist proved that her
slavery was God’s way to convey the message of His power to heal Naaman. She
had the zeal to convey to Naaman’s family the opportunity God has in store through
His prophet. She had the fervor to persuade Naaman’s household to make the
right move at the right time. It created a new chapter in Naaman’s personal,
professional and family life. When gospel comes into a life, it has far
reaching impact in a human life in a revolutionary manner.
Hiding behind the scene
after the ministry
When the miraculous cure of Naaman has
been achieved, we do not read anything more about the slave girl. Her mission
was completed. She shared the good news about the miraculous deliverance of sin
sickness of a life. When the purpose was accomplished, the slave girl moves to
the background to continue to serve and is no more visible. Her life and
testimony will have been rewarded by the Lord. Every evangelist and gospel
preacher likewise leads sinners to the Savior to get regenerated and then move
to the background.
In conclusion,
may the Lord lead all readers to follow the example of the slave girl and point
others to the Savior so as to enable them to be born again and to a new life!
May we all be challenged to risk our life and reputation and to use the
opportunity briskly to lead many souls to Christ! The life and ministry of this little slave
evangelist is thus a challenge for us all.
