Bible in a Year - 2 Kings 2 - E & E

Leaning into our mentors

This morning I saw these two blooms on our magnolia tree - one that only has a few more days in bloom and one that is to bloom probably tomorrow morning.  As I looked at them, I thought of the story of Elijah and Elisha that I read yesterday morning in 2 Kings.  Elijah knows he is nearing the end of his time and is about to pass along his role to his protege, Elisha.  In the story, I love how it feels like Elisha is going to do everything to soak up and leaning into every minute of their time together.  And I adore the way that Eugene Peterson translates verse 9 when Elijah asks Elisha, “What can I do for you?”  Elisha’s response in most translations is something like “give me a double portion of your spirit.”  But Peterson puts it this way...

Your life repeated in my life.  I want to be a holy man just like you.

What a perfect way to describe what it is to want to be like someone else, to be like a mentor in your life, to lean into someone to whom you look up.   

I am so grateful to the many people in my life who have been my mentors.  They have shown me how to be a follower of Jesus, how to love others, how to grow, how to serve, how to learn, how to be who God made me to be.