“At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: ‘Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.’ Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!’”
1 Kings 18:36-39
We’ve just celebrated the resurrection of Jesus; so you may be wondering why I’ve picked an Old Testament passage about Elijah’s battle with the prophets of Baal to sort of wrap things up. I was preparing to write this and the thought going through my mind was that while Jesus’ death and resurrection paid the debt owed by mankind and bridged the gap between us and God permanently putting eternity within our reach – it is an encounter with the living God that really transforms out lives. This week’s passage clearly illustrates the powerful difference between an idol and the living God. Elijah had only to humbly call on the name of the Lord one time to defeat the prophets of Baal.
As powerful as Jesus’ death and resurrection is for breaking the bonds of sin and making eternal life available to all who will believe – it is an encounter with the living God that transforms our lives. The list of lives transformed by their encounters with Jesus before the crucifixion is pretty amazing – all of the disciples, Nicodemus, the demon possessed man in the Gerasenes, the centurion, the woman at the well, Zacchaeus and the Canaanite woman – the list could go on and on. The disciples especially Peter and Thomas were blessed to have encounters with Jesus both before and after His death and resurrection. We must not forget the transformation Saul experienced when he encountered the living Jesus on the road to Damascus.
On our side of the resurrection, those of us who follow Jesus each had our own life transforming encounters with Jesus. We may not need to battle in the way the Elijah did, but we have a responsibility to make it possible for others to encounter Jesus too.
The difference? The difference that allows lives to be transformed and allows us to become who we are meant to be – is an encounter with the living God.
A Prayer
Father – You have used so many people to point others to an encounter with the One God, the living God. You left heaven and became one of us – so that we could have up close and personal encounters. Through the work of your spirit we can still encounter a living and loving God who can transform our lives. Help us to show others the way to their own encounter You. In the name of Jesus who is the difference because HE lives, we pray – Amen.
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