I will not leave you!

Then Elijah said to him,"Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan." But he said,"As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!"So the two of them went on. – 2 Kings 2v6

Dedication, faithfulness, and loyalty are a big deal to me. I think they are important character traits in dealing with others because they can indicate how we are going to deal with God.

Elijah was getting ready to depart. He was passing on his mantle of prophet to Elisha. He didn’t really want Elisha to see his departure so he kept telling Elisha to stay and not go any further.

But Elisha would hear nothing of it. At least three times he told Elijah ‘I will not leave you!’ Nothing could dissuade him. Elisha reminds me of Ruth and her devotion to Naomi – ‘where you go I will go and where you die I will die.’

I love that kind of dedication. It is a trait which is rare today. I remember a day when people stayed with their jobs, when athletes stayed with their teams, when people stayed with their churches, and when married folks stayed with their spouses. While there are sadly times when we must leave a situation physically or emotionally, it has now become far too common. Now people leave at the drop of a hat, using any excuse to get out.

We have grown too used to taking the easy way out. What kind of character does that show? If we are going to be quitters in human relationships, how are we going to do with God when things get tough?