2 Kings 2:15
“And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.”
Throughout the Scriptures, anytime someone has followed afar off they have either missed out on something or they got themselves into trouble. In the verse above, we see that the sons of the prophets viewed Elijah being taken into Heaven from a distance. They could have gone with Elijah like Elisha did, but they stayed on this side of the Jordan River. They could have pressed Elijah to take them with him as well, but they didn’t want to be inconvenienced. Because they followed from afar, they missed out on a few things.
First, following from afar caused them to miss the personal touch. After crossing over the Jordan River, Elisha was able to carry on a personal conversation with Elijah. I imagine the sons of the prophets would have loved to hear those words, but they didn’t because they followed from afar. Had they followed closely, they would have learned the more personal touch that they needed to make an impact on lives. When you follow the man of God from afar, you miss that personal touch. Many men of God have been wrongly criticized by those who’ve followed from afar. You won’t see the heart of the man of God when you follow from afar. You won’t see the tears when you follow from afar. Instead of being distant from the man of God, you need to strive to get as close as you can so you learn the personal touch.
Second, following from afar caused them to miss out on the passion. The passion that Elisha got from following closely can be seen in verse 12 when he cried, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” People who follow from afar tend to be people with no passion. They are the ones who sit on the back row. They are the ones who never see the burden of the man of God. My friend, you will never be passionate about serving the LORD when you follow from afar. It is those who follow closely who seem to be the most passionate about the things of the LORD.
Third, following from afar caused them to miss out on the presence of God. Somebody had to be driving the chariot of fire. I believe the one who drove that chariot was the presence of God. Imagine what Elisha experienced first hand because he was there when God’s presence showed up. No wonder he had a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. No wonder he had the power of God on his own life. You will never experience God’s wonderful power working in your life when you follow from afar. God’s power is always at the place where the action is happening. You can view what God is doing from afar, or you can be there personally and experience His presence first hand if you will follow closely.
Let me ask you, are you following from afar? Are you the type of Christian who doesn’t want to be the “fanatic” who follows closely? Friend, you are missing out when you follow from afar. I encourage you to jump in all the way with everything you have. Get up close by following your man of God closely and getting involved in all the activities of your church. When you follow closely is when the Christian life will make the greatest impact on you and those around you.