Lifegiving Likeness

5 min read

32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm.
— 2 Kings 4:32-34

This is the first time we hear of Elisha praying to God. After Elijah, his mentor, was taken up to God, Elisha had a “double portion” of the spirit of Elijah. The spirit of Elijah was the gift of signs and wonders.

All along, Elisha had been relying upon his supernatural gifting to help others. When he first heard of the boy’s death, he gave his staff to his servant and told him to go as fast as he could to lay the staff on the dead boy. But nothing happened.

So that Elisha might remember who the supernatural gifting came from rather than rely on the supernatural gifting itself, his supernatural gifting reached the limit of what it could accomplish. So Elisha prayed to God who holds the keys to life and death.

I’ve always been a little curious about Elisha’s act of stretching himself out on top of the boy. The act of touching a corpse even the slightest bit would have made him unclean. But he lays himself face-to-face, hands-to-hands on top of him. Perhaps it reflects how much he cared for the boy and his family. In a way, the child was his too, since he was born as the product of his supernatural gifting.

But also, in a way, this image of Elisha face to face with the boy reminds us that the image of God is inside of us, and God is the One who breathes life into every single one of us.

It is by the grace and love of God that I wake up today and live to bear witness to His image and His life in me.

God gives us many gifts and resources according to His plan of salvation for the world and His love for us (btw, those two things can never be separated). God has given us the freedom to use these gifts and to enjoy these gifts to help and to bless others and to build up His church. But we must never forget who is the provider of those gifts. We must never forget who is the Lord of our lives and Head of His church. We must never forget whose image we bear witness to. And we must never forget who is the Giver of life.

Father, You are the Giver of life, and Your love, mercy, and grace are unchanging. I praise You for every good and perfect gift I have. I praise You for loving me and calling me into Your grace. I praise You for my family and my GCC family and Your daily bread. Your kingdom come in my life. Your will be done in my life. In Jesus’s name. Amen.