14th August

Now bands from Aram had gone out and taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "if only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." 2 Kings 5, 2 & 3

Credible testimony

This young girl from Israel would have had thousand valuable reasons to stay in a careful reserve. After she had been taken away from her family as a prisoner and deported she could have had a lot of bitterness and resentment... However, she makes the most of every opportunity to do well (Colossians 4, 5)!

Her first characteristic is dedication: this small prisoner serves Naaman's wife and she surely serves her faithfully because her mistress listens to her.

A second charateristic is her compassion for the others. She is far away from thinking that "it is well done" for him who took her into captivity. She is also far away from pitying herself of her sad destiny, she considers the other people's suffering and tries to help them.

She shows another characteristic with her faith: she doesn't express any doubt about God's power to heal Naaman by using the prophet.

The last characteristic is her simpleness. She said everything with a few words and so she gave the means for healing.

All the elements for a credible testimony are united: simpleness, clearness, faith, love and dedication. God honours this child's faith.

The story of this young girl is found in two verses: what she did and what she said. As young or elderly Christians let us remember this: In order that our testimony is credible our acts have to go before our words and there has to be a coherence in our lives.