Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen,
slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and
gave it to his people to eat. Then he
left and followed Elijah as his attendant. 1 Kings 19:21
“…[M]ake good to the Lord all that you vow.” Matthew
5:33
Piety
If we pray to take refuge
in God, we cannot pursue a bigger house, a faster car or fancier
furniture. Our piety helps keep the Lord
always in our lives. Keep these words of
Psalm 16:8-9 on your mind today: I keep
the LORD always before me; with him at my right hand, I shall never be
shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, my
soul rejoices; my body also dwells secure.”
Study
The purpose of an oath was
to guarantee truthfulness by one’s calling on God as witness. Once Elisha decided to devote his life to the
Lord, he obliterated all signs of his former life. He slaughtered his oxen, burned his plow and
left that life behind. Just like Peter
left his boats behind and Matthew turned away from his tax rolls and the poor
widow gave her last nickel to the temple.
They unhinged their lives from
Elisha set himself up for
success. He figuratively burned the bridges back to his former life so there
was no comfort zone to which he could retreat.
On our journeys, we have certain
big oaths and decisions. Baptism is when
we make (and later renew) our faith. When
we reach confirmation, we promise to remain faithful to the Lord and then vow
to "renounce Satan and all his work and ways, and surrender myself to You,
O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in belief, obedience, and the earnest
resolution to remain faithful to You until my end." Many then take vows during marriage. Some take vows in Holy Orders of poverty,
chastity and stability.
Action
We may not need to burn all
the symbols and possessions of our life to follow our faith journey but we have
to make room in our days to pursue piety, study and action. How will you make good on that promise to
make good all that you vow to the Lord?
What obstacles can you remove (burn) in order to render unto the Lord
all that are his due.
No comments:
Post a Comment