Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 ESV
Shopping has not been on my top ten favorite list for a very long time. Sure, I like to have a new outfit from time to time, but I truly dislike the shopping experience. And for that reason, I only shop at stores with liberal and easy return policies.
Because even more than I dislike shopping, I despise trying on clothes in a small retail dressing room with bad lighting. After spending too much time searching for something that is at best tolerable, I’m done with the process. If it looks like it might fit, I’ll buy it, take it home, and try it on there. And most of the time, I keep whatever it was that I purchased.
But I like knowing that I can return it if I don’t like it. It eases the pressure of getting stuck with something that I don’t like or doesn’t fit right. Easy returns give me an easy out.
When I read the story of Elisha’s calling in 1 Kings 19:19-21, I am so impressed with his response to Elijah.
Elisha was plowing in a field behind twelve yoke of oxen when Elijah threw his cloak on him, essentially enlisting Elisha to follow Elijah. Elisha’s immediate reaction was to stop plowing, to chase after Elijah.
After getting Elijah’s permission, Elisha returned to his home to kiss his parents goodbye. But before he left, Scripture says that Elisha sacrificed a yoke of oxen to Jehovah God, then prepared a meal with the oxen meat to share with the people of his village—sort of a farewell dinner. After the meal, Elisha followed Elijah as his servant.
Think about that for a moment. Elisha received the call of God through Elijah, and immediately responded with a goodbye to his parents, friends, and relatives, who joined him in a celebratory going-away dinner. The dinner’s main course? The oxen that had been Elisha’s source of income.
When the dinner was completed, the goodbyes said, and the life he knew burned on the altar, there was no going back for Elisha.
There was No Return to the old life plowing behind the oxen.
There is no record of a conversation between Elijah and Elisha working out the terms of their arrangement, no details are given regarding an employment contract with stated income, benefits, and vacation. Nothing that outlined what Elisha would receive working for Elijah.
Elisha did not know what his future would hold, he only knew that God had called him. He believed that if God called, God would provide.
How remarkable. What kind of faith fuels that sort of obedience?
How would you have responded, if you had been Elisha?
I would love to say that if that had been me standing in Elisha’s place, I would have responded as quickly and eagerly to God’s calling. But I don’t know if that would have been my response—actually, I rather doubt that it would have.
In the parable of the Great Banquet, Jesus tells of a man who invited many of his family, friends, and acquaintances to a great banquet. But on the day of the event, everyone had an excuse why they could not attend. They all had more interesting and important things to do than attend a dinner party—no matter how grand it might be. In the parable, the man giving the banquet represented God and the generous and great invitation of eternal salvation He extends to the world’s lost and dying.
In Matthew 19, a rich young man approached Jesus with questions about obtaining eternal life. The young man kept the commandments of the Law, but when he learned that he would need to give up his earthly wealth to follow Jesus, it was too much to ask. He wasn’t willing to give up the security and certainty of his wealth, to follow the uncertainties of the unknown to follow Jesus.
In both the parable of the Great Banquet and the story of the rich young man, the problem was the same. The people invited to the banquet and the rich young man were not willing to give up what they believed was more important, more certain, and more familiar to follow a path of uncertainty to follow God. (Luke 14)
Which brings us back to Elisha. Elisha did not know what the future held, but he knew that God held his future. He was willing to risk it all to serve Jehovah God, because he believed that God was able. He believed God was willing to provide. He believed that there was no higher calling than to follow God with a fully surrendered heart, believing that in every situation, God would supply whatever was needed.
And, in the end we learn that God greatly rewarded Elisha’s ministry – he did indeed receive a double portion of the power that God had given Elijah. God used Elisha in mighty ways to minister to kings, foreign leaders, priests, prophets, and a barren woman. You can read the entire story of how God took a man from behind a plow who was willing to surrender everything in order to serve his God in 1 Kings 19:17 to 2 Kings 13:21.
For Elisha, there were no returns – no asking for a different assignment – no backtracking on his commitment – no delays – and no regrets. He trusted that the God who called him, would faithfully carry him through to the end of his earthly assignment.
If God called you to a new area of service today, how would you respond?
“Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” – Matthew 16:24 ESV