A Miracle Of Life

Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway, “Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!” “No, my lord!” she cried. “O man of God, don’t deceive me and get my hopes up like that.” But sure enough, the woman soon became pregnant. And at that time the following year she had a son, just as Elisha had said. 2 Kings 4:15-17

THE WEALTHY WOMAN from Shunem had not asked for a son, yet Elisha sought this blessing for her. But when the child was still young, he died suddenly. The heartbroken mother went to find Elisha. When he heard her plight, he went with her back to her home. “When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet’s bed. He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the LORD. Then he lay down on the child’s body, placing his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes, and his hands on the child’s hands. And as he stretched out on him, the child’s body began to grow warm again!” (2 Kings 4:32-34). Elisha stretched himself out over the boy, uniting with him in every way, overpowering death and imparting life from God.

Just over the hill from Shunem is the village of Nain, where hundreds of years later, Jesus arrived. As he approached the village, a funeral procession was coming out, carrying the dead body of a young man, followed by his weeping mother. Luke records, “When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. ‘Don’t cry!’ he said. Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. ‘Young man,’ he said, ‘I tell you, get up.’ Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother” (Luke 7:13-15).

Just as Elisha identified himself with the dead boy mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, and hands to hands, so Jesus identified with us in every way so that he could bring us back from death to life.

Lord, it is just this kind of miracle we need to be brought from death to life. As parents, we are as helpless to breathe spiritual life into the lives of our children as the woman from Shumen and the mother in Nain were to restore life to their sons. But you can. Won’t you cover ________ and make her warm to the truth of the gospel? Won’t you speak to ________ and call her to awaken to you?