Today's readings are 2 Kings 2.1-18 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=2Kings+2.1-18 ) and Ephesians 4.1-24 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Eph.+4.1-24 ).
Look at God's demands here. See how we are exhorted to cling to the truth which our Lord has given. See how we are to defend the unity of the faith. See how we are to strive for pure doctrine.
We are told to be like Elisha, following his master, dogging his steps. Have you ever tried to cling to someone, follow his every move, stay in his footsteps? I've taken a fair number of music and dance classes in my lifetime. It's always a challenge to do precisely what the master does. Sometimes I can manage a crude imitation of it, but it remains just that. I'm no master, not by any stretch of the imagination. Yet that's what the preacher tells me to do. Follow Jesus. Have the desire that Elisha had to be like his master. Pursue our master to the end of the earth and live just the way he does.
It's absolutely right that we should do this. We are to live like Jesus lives. We are to follow him no matter what. And we all fail. Not that we are in bad company there, because everyone fails. How many of the disciples were with Jesus defending him to the end and dying with him? I venture to say there would be no more disciples in that room in the high priest's house, no more disciples standing before Pilate, if we were there than there actually were. Truth be told, we are no more courageous or dedicated than those apostles Jesus sent. They were just nomal people. And as they failed to follow Jesus, so we fail.
What kind of a lord do we have then? We have the kind of lord and master who calls us to his side, forgives us, restores us, nourishes us, and sends us out yet again to do his will. And we will try, do some sort of crude imitation of it for a little while, then fail again. What will our master do? He'll call us to his side, forgive us, restore us, nourish us, and send us out again. Bit by bit, day by day, as we pursue what our Lord has called us to, we are his instruments to change the world.
So do we quit defending the faith, striving for unity and purity of doctrine? Well, we probably will do so today. That's why the Scripture reminds us of our savior and exhorts us to keep doing what he has commanded. Let's get up from where we fell down, look to our heavenly master, and go about his business.
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