”God Can Where Narcan Cannot!”
By Pastor Ron Buxton
Two mechanics were working in the garage together one day. As one was pouring brake fluid into the master cylinder, he was curious as to how it tasted. It smelled so good to him, and as he told his partner that—he then took a sip!
“Wow, I actually love the taste!”, he exclaimed. And with that comment, he proceeded to drink the rest of the entire bottle!
“Man—that stuff will kill you!”, shouted his partner. “You’ve got to stop doing that!”
“Don’t worry”, he responded, “Relax! It’s brake fluid. I can stop any time that I want to!”
Although that story is funny and fictional, the reality is that millions of people simply cannot stop their addictions to harmful substances–be it alcohol or drugs. Nobody will disagree that we have a serious problem in this country, and that problem is only getting worse.
Please hear me on this. I don’t want you to think that I am against the medical science in its attempt to help counteract this epidemic. Whatever we can do in practical measures should be done, and I applaud their actions. However, my focus is not on the “fruit”—but on the “root”—of this preventable and pernicious problem.
We now have access to wonderful medicines like Narcan which can revive somebody who has had an opioid overdose. It has proven to be quite effective against the rapid and fatal effects when that tragedy has occurred. And, no doubt, thousands of people are still alive today due to that remedy. However, that’s one remedy for the “fruit”—and not the “root”—of the current drug abuse problem. That same person that was revived by Narcan still has not been freed from the addictive behavior that caused him/her to overdose in the first place. Tragically, many of those same people will need another dosage of Narcan when another overdose happens.
Jesus declared that He came to bring an “abundant life” in John 10:10—and with that statement—He was not just referring to a biological existence. You see, Christ was talking about providing true meaning to a person weighed down with sin, sickness, and insignificance. Those issues are what precipitates drug and alcohol abuse in the first place. Simply stated here, Christ came to deal with the “root” causes of addiction. And millions of people can testify to that supernatural remedy that is neither short-term, nor limited to our earthly existence.
Many of my closest friends from Bible college were graduates of a program called Adult & Teen Challenge. It is a program with hundreds of facilities in this country and around the world. Founded in 1960, it has a success rate that is more than 20 times that of a secular drug rehabilitation program! Why? I would call that the “Jesus Factor”!
Maybe Narcan can prolong an addict’s biological life—but it cannot go deeper than that. Where Narcan can not—God can! Faith in Christ breaks the chains of chemical addiction!
