Miracles in Compassion
6 min read
5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!” 6 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. 7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
— 2 Kings 6:5-7
Elisha continues to display the power of God that is at work within him. But we see aspects of his personal character on display, as well.
The fact that Elisha made an axhead float is pretty amazing in itself. We should be amazed by the power of God. We should also be amazed that God would use imperfect people to demonstrate His power and glory. At the same time, can we really say it is a surprise that the Creator of heaven and earth, the One who knit every one of us in our mother’s wombs, could make an axhead float?
The real lesson in this episode, I think, has to do with why Elisha did such a thing. He was not trying to show off in front of this young prophet. Rather, Elisha had compassion for him. The young man had to borrow an ax, a basic instrument in an agrarian society, in order to help build a facility for the prophets to gather and meet with Elisha. Obviously, the young prophet was poor and had no way to pay back the person he had borrowed the ax from.
So Elisha called on God to make the axhead float.
One of my favorite thing about being a pastor is being able to participate in a fellowship of pastors. As with other Christians, there are some kind pastors, and then there are those who are not so kind. I count myself blessed because I belong to KBEMF (Korean Baptist English Minister’s Fellowship, and yes we do have a discussion every once in a while about whether we should change our name).
I remember one year, I was going through a particularly difficult season in my ministry. And during our annual conference, I shared my struggle with the brothers there. I thought about possibly keeping my struggle to myself, and I realized that this feeling was probably due to pride. But I figured that I was in a room full of pastors, and to not ask for their prayers would have been beyond foolish.
And so I shared my struggle with them, and they prayed for me. And then, God opened the position for me at GCC.
Whenever we say that God loves us, it means that God loves us in tangible ways. Yes, God loves us so much that He sent our Lord Jesus to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Yes, God loves us so much that He has given us the hope of eternal life by His grace through faith.
And we should never take our salvation for granted. The joy and blessing we will experience when we come face to face with Jesus will be beyond imagining.
But God has enough love for us in the here and now. And so often, God will use the saints to pour out His love to us. Praise be to God, Father, Son, and Spirit. And praise be to God for the saints who show compassion toward one another.
Father, I thank You so much for Your help each and every day. Above all, I need Your grace and mercy and love every day. And You have more than enough grace, mercy, and love to sustain me every day. In Jesus’s name. Amen.