2nd Kings 6:1-7(NIV) The company of prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live.”
And he said, “Go.”
Then one of them said, “Won’t you go with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied. And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water. “Oh, my lord,” he cried out, “it was borrowed!”
The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
I can identify with the man who lost the ax head. A couple of summers ago I was mowing with a borrowed lawn mower. Our land is very bumpy and full of ruts and holes. I’m not quite sure what I did, but the mower loudly grumbled at me and quit mowing. I had the most sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Tipping it to look underneath just made gas spill all over the place. The mower needed to go into a shop but would have to wait a payday or two.
The man who had loaned us the mower was patient and allowed us lots of time to deal with the problem…a whole season actually. Then he told us we could just keep it; that it was his spare. I was thankful but wondered what he really thought of us. The person I borrowed it from is a dear friend now, but we hardly knew each other back then. I know how I felt about failing to take good care of what was entrusted to me, and it wasn’t good! It really bothered me to know I had hurt someone who was trying to help us. Over time I realized that we truly had been forgiven by him.
Have you ever been guilty of not taking proper care of something entrusted to you? Now, answer this carefully and prayerfully! How about your body? It is the temple of the Holy Spirit. How about your spouse, friends, children, employees, or any other relationships? They are only on loan to you. Every last
one of them that you have been entrusted with, you should handle with the utmost care. Have you considered finances, time and talent? They aren’t really yours. They’re all His. Everything is just on loan!
Just as the servants of Elisha asked him to go with them, we need to ask Our Lord to go with us. When we lose or destroy what has been entrusted to us, we need a miracle from Jesus. He takes the truth of the cross to the point where things went down. He does the lifting, no matter how heavy the loss, then
tells us to reach out and take what is needed to continue building. He even forgives us completely.