Two Bachelors: Examples of Obedience

      By Fern Horst

"So [Elijah] departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee? And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him." (I Kings 19:19-21)

I don't know of anyone who has had a life calling come to them in the same way that Elisha's did. Elijah came along and placed his mantle around him, indicating that Elisha was to take his place as prophet of Israel.

Each one of us discovers God's mission for us in different ways. Sometimes it's as obvious as Elisha's calling, at other times it's a slow realization and burning in our hearts over time. It may not be a life-time calling as Elisha's was; it may be for a time, followed by another calling for another portion of our lives. But it doesn't matter how the call comes, or for how long we are to fulfill that calling; what matters is that we are obedient to the Lord in His mission for us.

Elisha serves as a great example of how we should respond when we realize what God is calling us to do. He took the very tools that he was using for his current livelihood - his oxen and his plow, slaughtering the oxen and using the wood from his equipment to cook the meat - and he threw a farewell party. And then he left with Elijah.

When Elisha realized without a doubt what God was calling him to, without hesitation he destroyed any possibility of backing out of his new mission. After all, a farmer who intends to keep on farming doesn't have a family barbeque with the very tools that keep him in business!

And so it should be with us. First an immediate and willing acceptance of God's calling for us as we become sure of what that is. Second, a burning of our bridges to the past so that we can't back out on that calling. And third, a following after that mission in obedience.

Just as God led Elijah and Elisha - both single men who followed God with their whole hearts - so will He lead us. It might not always be as singles. God will indeed call many current singles to partner with a spouse to serve Him. But whatever our marital status, our part is to follow God in willing obedience, now. Great things can be done for the Lord when we obey our calling, as the lives of Elijah and Elisha show us so vividly.

© 2003 Fern Horst

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