The Scandal of Simplicity

Date: Friday, April 17, 2026

Naaman is the great man with a great problem: leprosy. He expected a great ceremony for his healing, but instead, he got a simple instruction to wash in a muddy river. This is the scandal of grace. Our pride always wants to do something big to earn our healing, but God asks us to be something small enough to receive it. Naaman almost missed his miracle because it was too simple. He wanted a performance; God wanted his surrender.

Psalm 90, the prayer of Moses, grounds this narrative in the reality of our finitude. “Teach us to number our days,” the Psalmist writes. We are “like grass that springs up in the morning” but withers by evening. Naaman’s leprosy was a physical manifestation of the mortality and decay we all face. In the evolving grand narrative, the Jordan River points us to the Baptism of Jesus and our own baptism into His death and resurrection. The healing Naaman received was a shadow of the total restoration we find in Christ, who washes us clean not just of physical ailments, but of the leprosy of sin that separates us from the Eternal God.

Modern spirituality often tries to life-hack its way into wholeness. But traditional orthodoxy reminds us that the way up is down. We have to dip into the waters of humility. Grace is only scandalous to those who think they can pay for their own cure. For the rest of us, the simple stream of God’s mercy is the only thing that truly makes us whole.

Devotional Prompts:

What muddy river or simple act of obedience are you avoiding because it feels too simple?
How does reflecting on your own mortality (Psalm 90) help you let go of the Naaman-like pride that tries to manage God?
In what ways have you experienced God’s healing through surrender rather than through your own effort?

Prayer: Lord of the Humble, strip away my pride and my need for grand gestures. Teach me to trust in the simple, scandalous power of Your grace. Wash me clean and give me a heart that rests in Your eternal sovereignty. Amen.