A Big Deal Over A Little Thing
It’s been a month of Sundays since I wrote a sermon recap. Make that months of Sundays. Charge it to my head…and my heart. I have been on the struggle bus, but I suppose now is as good a time as any to get off. And Sunday’s sermon helped me get out of my seat and join civilization. I hope it does the same for you. Enough chit chat. Let’s dive into the sermon.
2 Kings 6:1-7 contains a story that is easy to overlook. One of those passages of scripture that you glaze over. Not a big deal. A school of prophets had outgrown their current living arrangements. They asked Elisha if they could build a bigger dwelling. He consented and the prophets set off to the Jordan River to cut down trees. They all got to work. They picked up axes and began to swing and chop. And then, a small mishap…a little thing…happens. One prophet cries out because his ax head has fallen into the water. Elisha asks where the ax head fell, cuts off a branch, throws it in the water and the iron ax head floats. Elisha tells the prophet to pick it up. The prophet reaches out his hand and picks the ax head up out of the Jordan River. A little thing. A small concern. Fixed and handled.
Except it’s not really a little thing to the prophet. Prophets were not rolling in the dough. And while the prophet was willing to work to build a new dwelling, he did not own an ax to get the work done. Iron was an expensive metal, and the prophet did not have the money to spare to purchase an ax. So, he borrowed the ax from someone else. And now that borrowed ax head had fallen off into the Jordan. Now let’s be honest here. The prophet had options. He could have continued to whack away at the tree. Everyone was busy and likely would not have noticed that his ax head had fallen off. He could have just played the part and gone along to get along. Moving in sync with others that were actually yielding results. Or he could have walked away. After all, there was no need for him to be there anymore. His ax head was gone. He no longer had purpose….right?
Thankfully, this prophet did not take any of those approaches. He still wanted to work. He just no longer had an effective tool. So, he cried out for help. A simple problem. A small concern. Solved quickly. So what’s the big deal?
By now, I’m sure you have gathered that the ax head is not just important to the prophet, but it is important to us as well. The ax head was being used to help collect materials to build a house that the prophets needed. Remember the prophets? Prophets were responsible for delivering God’s message to the people. And the people desperately needed God’s Word. Back then, and certainly today. Food, shelter, and clothing are basic needs, and building this home would supply the profits with shelter and a place to learn how to do what God called them to do. Remember their purpose? Reaching the lost. And the ax head was key in helping them live out their purpose.
A little thing. A simple tool. With a long reach. What is your ax head? What is that thing that you do that you think is of little importance? What is your ministry or outreach that you think does not matter at all? It is such a small thing. Maybe you greet every co-worker as they walk into the office. Or you send people quick text messages to let them know you are thinking of them. You may sing…not like Shirley Ceasar…but you hold down your part in the choir. Not a solo. Just your part. Or you usher. Or you occasionally write sermon recaps and post them on the internet. It’s no big deal. So, you fall off. You stop greeting every co-worker. You quit the text messages. You sit down from the choir. But ya’ll…it’s a big deal.
God made each of us with a purpose in mind. And in today’s world, it’s easy to downplay the small things that make us special. We can mislabel our gifts as commonplace and think that they have no effect when they really do. Our axes are pivotal in our connection with others. And more importantly, our ax heads are used to keep people connected to God.
So, what’s the solution? Glad you asked. The prophet gives us a powerful template to restore what has fallen off. Cry out for help. God is listening. And when He responds, you have to be willing to reach out and pick that ax head back up. Your contribution to society has the power to change lives. Your ministry saves souls. And you may think it’s a little thing, but God says differently. And that’s a big deal. #wepreach
Food for Thought (or chopping down):
- What is your ax head? In other words, what gifts, abilities, or ministry has God given you to help you connect with people?
- Do you minimize the gifts that you have? Why or why not?
- Do you have someone that you can reach out to when you have fallen off?
- What is one thing that you can do to connect with others this week?
