DoublePortion_October2023_8.5x5.5_REV.indd

the lowliest of tasks, one normally carried out by servants. After finishing, He said, “I gave you an example that you should do as I did to you” (John 13:35).This humble and selfless act, one which centered around the special relationship Jesus enjoyed with these disciples, helped set the tone for the growth of the church and the Gospel being spread around the world. Devotion - Elijah tried twice to get Elisha to stay put as he prepared for his departure to heaven, yet each time his servant refused, replying, “As surely as the Lord lives and you live, I will not leave you” (2 Kings 2:2,4).This brings to mind Ruth’s reply when Naomi urged her to go back to her people upon the death of her husband, her mother-in-law’s son: “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge (Ruth 1:16). Further proof of this unusual bond between the two appears when the company of prophets in Bethel questions Elisha twice, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” (2 KIngs 2:3,5). Both times he answers, “Yes I know, so be quiet” (2 Kings 2:3,5). Obviously sorrowful about the homegoing of his mas ter, Elisha didn’t want to get into a conversation about it. These two didn’t just serve together, they loved one another. In families, churches, teams, businesses, and other entities where devotion abounds, success generally follows suit. But it wasn’t just that special relationship that defines this passage, but also an unprec edented request. As the pair experienced their final earthly walk together, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” To which Elisha responds, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.” A young Italian boy knocked at the door of an artist in Rome who had recently died.When the widow answered the

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