Passing On The Power

"Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha,'Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?'
'Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,'Elisha replied.
'You have asked a difficult thing,'Elijah said,'yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours--otherwise not.'
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out,'My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!' And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.
He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. 'Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?'he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over."
-2 Kings 2:8-14

My goats were delayed in their breeding season this year, so I decided to do something to stimulate them into cycling. A neighbor was giving away a pygmy goat buck that had a lot of musk...and I mean A LOT!!! As my husband was driving in the truck on the highway in front of me with the goat in the bed of it, I could smell our furry friend 40 or so feet behind him in the car! It was my hope that this buck would, by pure fragrance, trigger my goats to go into heat.

Now, I have a buck. I have a wonderful buck. However, he's a six month old baby and puberty has eluded him the benefits of being stinky enough to woo the ladies. He's ready, he's eager, he's able...but he's not enough "buck" for my goats. He needed help.

Mr. Stinky (as I shall call the sexually charged pygmy, as we had many other less affectionate nicknames for him as time went on) successfully triggered my goats into heat. The problem started when my does wanted only to breed with him, and I didn't want such an ugly little monster to breed. Poor Pilgrim (that's my lamancha buck) didn't stand a chance against all that musky goatishness in the next pen. In turn, Mr. Stinky took his frustration out on us when we wouldn't let him breed. He became very aggressive and began charging at me, my husband, and my children. My legs became very bruised up and I found myself running with a full bucket of milk from the garage to the house just to avoid getting attacked. All barnyard peace was abandoned during his short stay!

The obvious decision had to be made to euthanize the aggressive Mr. Stinky. However, how then would we be able to make sure Pilgrim was "buck enough" for the girls? After my husband shot Mr. Stinky, we carefully removed his collar. It was saturated and literally greasy with all of his various funky musks. Perfect. After we burned Mr. Stinky's body, we bequeathed Pilgrim with his old collar.

From the moment we placed that collar on Pilgrim, it was as if we had knighted him. He was now stinky and he knew it. He smelled like a "real" grown-up buck! He got a strut in his step and he promptly began wooing all of my does relentlessly. That smelly collar is like a ring of power around his neck.

What God has given to us for His purposes is no more an object to call our own than as the sky owns the sun. The passing of the prophet's cloak was a beautiful transference of power from Elijah to Elisha. Where Elijah was going he didn't need it any more. We shall be utterly changed in the fire and will not need anything any more. What we try to hold in our hand shall be burned up, so pass it on!

As John the Baptist lived his life as a harbinger for Jesus himself, so should we be living a life ready to stand aside for those greater than ourselves. The natural man wants to be the greatest and the most wonderful, but the spirit man looks to lead people into becoming better than himself. Elijah mentored and prepared a man who became a prophet with double the anointing that he even had. Make a way for those behind you to supersede you in excellence. Our life is not our own. Sow into others all you have so that when you cross the Jordan and are taken in a whirlwind of fire, what you leave behind will carry on greater works than you ever achieved.

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last." -Matthew 20:16

"Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." -Matthew 25:40

"After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie." -Mark 1:7

"Therefore, I urge you to imitate me...my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church." -1 Corinthians 4:16-17

"'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?'
Jesus replied,'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'
'No,'said Peter,'You shall never wash my feet.'
Jesus answered,'Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.'
'Then, Lord,' Simon Peter replied,'not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!'
....(Jesus says)'Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.'" - John 13:6-9&14-15

"Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." -Luke 14:11