It ranks up there with pigs flying. Iron doesn't float on water, except that it once did.
"But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, 'Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.' Then the man of God said, 'Where did it fall?' And when he showed him the place,he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float. He said, 'Take it up for yourself.' So he put out his hand and took it." (2 Kings 6:5-7)
Now, if we get hung up on the specifics of what it was that made a borrowed axe head float on water, we miss the main point. Bottom line is, things are not as they seem in the spiritual realm.
Consider what we read further in 2 Kings six. Elisha the prophet and his attendant were surrounded by a large army, bent on their destruction (2 Kings 6:14). Elisha's servant was rightly alarmed. But, Elisha stated confidently, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." (2 Kings 6:16). These were not the words of some starry-eyed dreamer, completely detached from reality. No, this man of God provided his attendant with overwhelming proof of his confidence: "Then Elisha prayed and said, 'O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.' And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." (2 Kings 6:17)
Faith works this way. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1). Faith makes the invisible visible. Eyes of faith bring into focus the unseen reality that changes everything.
Jesus saw the kingdom of God in the everyday. A majority of His parables begin with the phrase, "The kingdom of God is like ...". He saw the kingdom in mustard seeds, yeast, buried treasures, pearls, and fishing nets. As the ultimate person of faith, He saw the kingdom to come existing already in the present.
It's not really about iron floating on water, or vast armies hidden on hillsides. It's about resolute faith in the One true God who is the God of all possibilities. His Son came to be a living demonstration of the reality of the One who is invisible to the human eye. In Jesus we see faith most fully expressed, and made available to us.
Reality is not as it seems. Insurmountable debt, irreconcilable differences in marriage, and intense frustration at work seem like harsh reality. But, there is One who offers the ultimate reality of victory over obstacles.
"Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." May our eyes be opened to see the greater reality, and may we live confidently and victoriously in that which we see.
Steve
©Steve Taylor, 2011
"But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, 'Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.' Then the man of God said, 'Where did it fall?' And when he showed him the place,he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float. He said, 'Take it up for yourself.' So he put out his hand and took it." (2 Kings 6:5-7)
Now, if we get hung up on the specifics of what it was that made a borrowed axe head float on water, we miss the main point. Bottom line is, things are not as they seem in the spiritual realm.
Consider what we read further in 2 Kings six. Elisha the prophet and his attendant were surrounded by a large army, bent on their destruction (2 Kings 6:14). Elisha's servant was rightly alarmed. But, Elisha stated confidently, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." (2 Kings 6:16). These were not the words of some starry-eyed dreamer, completely detached from reality. No, this man of God provided his attendant with overwhelming proof of his confidence: "Then Elisha prayed and said, 'O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.' And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." (2 Kings 6:17)
Faith works this way. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1). Faith makes the invisible visible. Eyes of faith bring into focus the unseen reality that changes everything.
Jesus saw the kingdom of God in the everyday. A majority of His parables begin with the phrase, "The kingdom of God is like ...". He saw the kingdom in mustard seeds, yeast, buried treasures, pearls, and fishing nets. As the ultimate person of faith, He saw the kingdom to come existing already in the present.
It's not really about iron floating on water, or vast armies hidden on hillsides. It's about resolute faith in the One true God who is the God of all possibilities. His Son came to be a living demonstration of the reality of the One who is invisible to the human eye. In Jesus we see faith most fully expressed, and made available to us.
Reality is not as it seems. Insurmountable debt, irreconcilable differences in marriage, and intense frustration at work seem like harsh reality. But, there is One who offers the ultimate reality of victory over obstacles.
"Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." May our eyes be opened to see the greater reality, and may we live confidently and victoriously in that which we see.
Steve
©Steve Taylor, 2011
posted by steve @ 9:02 AM
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