II Kings 2:9-22
In his book "The Joyful Christian," C.S. Lewis writes that after giving a talk to the R.A.F., an old hardbitten officer got up and said, "I've no use for all that stuff. But, mind you, I'm a religious man too. I know there's a God. I've felt him: out alone in the desert at night: the tremendous mystery. And that's just why I don't believe all your neat little dogmas and formulas about Him. To anyone who's met the real thing, they all seem so petty and pedantic and unreal."
Lewis goes on to report that he agrees with the man that his experience in the desert was a real encounter with God. However, he also points out that although what happened to that man in the desert may have been exciting, nothing comes of it. It leads nowhere. C.S. Lewis points out that you must follow Christian doctrines which are made up of the experiences of hundreds of people with God in order to complete your journey as a Christian. If you sit back and merely enjoy the pious felling of an encounter with God, it is like watching waves from the beach; all thrills and no work.
This story about the R.A.F. officer contrasts sharply with today's scripture about Elisha. Although Elijah gave Elisha several opportunities to stay behind, while Elijah journeyed on to be taken unto heaven, Elisha refused to be left behind. He continued to follow Elijah from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to his ultimate departure in a whirlwind up to heaven.
Unlike the R.A.F. officer in Lewis's story, Elisha did not merely sit back and ponder the awe of what he had witnessed. After all, he had seen chariots and horses of fire in addition to the whirlwind lifting his mentor, Elijah, up to heaven. He could have easily said that after that experience, nothing on earth could compare and all religion seemed trivial. Instead, he took up Elijah's cloak; parted the waters of the river Jordan; returned to Jericho, and cured the waters of the town with a small measure of salt and his great faith in God.
Lee Oxley
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