In 1 Kings 19:19-21 we find the story of the call of Elisha to prophetic ministry. My friend Jeff preached on this passage last month, and brought out something I had not noticed.
When Elijah called Elisha, the younger man did not immediately leave to go with the veteran prophet. He asked for time to say goodbye to his family, and Elijah gave him leave to do so. What is different in this story from the incident where Jesus told a man (Luke 9:61-62) with a similar request to not look back?
I think the difference was that Elisha really wanted to say a permanent goodbye. His request was not an excuse for inaction. Elisha was plowing with twelve pair of oxen. Apparently his family was wealthy and successful. After Elijah's call, Elisha turned his back on it all by burning his plows and cooking the oxen to feed the community. With these actions he made a firm separation from his past life. He left himself no opportunity to go back to his old life. Elisha was not looking back; he was ripping of his rear view mirror.
Could the lesson in this story be that to follow God's call, we must sometimes burn the bridges to our past life by putting away even the symbols of our successes?
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