The Axe Head

Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See, the place where we dwell under your charge is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan and each of us get there a log, and let us make a place for us to dwell there.” And he answered, “Go.” Then one of them said, “Be pleased to go with your servants.” And he answered, “ I will go.” So he went with them. and when they came to the Jordan they cut down trees. But as one was felling a log, his axe head fell into the water, and he cried out, “Alas, my master! It was borrowed.” Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. And he said, “Take it up.” So he reached out his hand and took it. - 2 Kings 6:1-7

I’m a bum. Argue with me all you please, but it’s true. Sure, you could say I work hard at my job. However, I’m not a bum because I don’t have a job. At the moment I am a bum because I feel that I am useless. I do not feel that my job is useful. I am 25 with a Bachelor's degree that doesn’t feel to be all that valid. So what do I do? I bartend three or four nights a week. I long for more. I long to be doing something that makes this world better. I recall a time when I felt essential; a time when I felt needed. Somewhere along the line, though, I had lost my sense of contribution. I am, in essence, an axe head that has sunk to the bottom of a mighty river. That’s right: I am the axe head in this story. I am not a son of the prophets, and I am certainly not the prophet. I am the inanimate tool.

This is not to say I’m of any less value. The axe was being used to build something better for the sons of the prophets. Some could say that making a place for the sons of the prophets to dwell is a metaphor for the kingdom of God...a metaphor for the connection between God and the people He created. Others might say that making a place for the sons of the prophets is simply a metaphor for just making the world we live in better. Personally, I feel that the two go hand-in-hand. This, however, is a subject for a different day. Whichever way you may look at it, there’s no denying the importance of the axe head in the story. It’s needed. It’s being put to use. It’s being put to work for something better. But then, control is lost. The axe head flies off the handle and is lost to a point where it cannot be retrieved.

Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever felt as I do? I’m quite sure you have. I’m quite sure most of us have felt lost. I’m quite sure you know what it means to have sunk low as water (or time and the world) flows over you. I’m quite sure you know what it is to feel as if you’re rusting over, as iron would being at the bottom of a river, all the while fearing that if you are not found and rust any further, you’ll never be useful again. These are things we don’t even like to dwell on.

There is hope, however. You are needed. You are essential. Essential to a Being Who is Holy, Loving, and our King. To Him you are worth searching for. He has the ability to make you float so that you may be retrieved and put back to work. He has the ability to do this, even if we feel we have as much chance at floating as a hunk of iron. We need hope and faith that we can float. But not only this, we need hope and faith that upon floating we may be retrieved. We must not settle for the bottom of the river.

Created 10 months ago