truly being committed to something
loyal
dedicated
true
devoted
sold out
i think that all of these terms have lost a lot of power
our society has started to allow moral slippage & once it starts, it aint easy to stop
i feel like this is one, less obvious, area that has been affected
‘it’s ok to quit…especially if you aren’t happy’
‘put some energy here, but not all, for your sake’
‘don’t open up completely, you’ll be too vulnerable’
these are just a couple of ideas that i just made up, but definitely would not be surprised to over hear them at any grocery store, restaurant, or post office
here is a story i read this morning from 1 kings
so elijah went from there and found elisha son of shaphat. he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him…so elisha left him and went back. he took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. he burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. then he set out to follow elijah and became his attendant.
1 kings 19:19, 21
examine:
elijah is a prophet of the LORD, and God tells him to go anoint elisha as his successor;
elisha is in the middle of his work in the field with 24 oxen when elijah finds him;
his first response: ‘can i go back, say goodbye to my family, & have a party for my friends?’
he kills the pair of oxen that enabled him to work the way he did,
burns the other plowing equipment that he had,
& has a big celebration with the people;
do you see what happened?
he understood what it meant to be called …
it required dedication, loyalty, & commitment
so he left his past in ashes,
not with regret & crying while throwing the last piece of plowing equipment into the fire ‘because it was the right thing to do’
with joy & laughter, dancing & thanks, because it was the only thing to do
the only response he could think of to God’s calling on his life;
no questions of turning back,
no thoughts of did i make the right decision,
not even a chance to have these thoughts run through his head, because they weren’t even an option anymore;
he made a decision, focused only on that path, & sold out
are you living dedicated to anything?
are you sold out for the calling on your life?
ltlo
that would be like me on the golf course, i hear the word, throwing my clubs into the lake and walking off, to follow, knowing that IT is going to be better than what i had before. trusting, believing, commiting, devoting, selling out, everything…. TO BE FREE! Yes Lord, thank you for being the same yesterday,today and FOREVER, and that we can count on YOU and you alone to be free from all idolatry. Let us have ears to hear, in case its not an actual jacket that is put on us, and be prepared, He still works today, as He did back when.