Sharing our Rations

 

Scripture

 1 Kings 17:8-16

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” ¹⁰ So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” ¹¹ As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 

  ¹² But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

  ¹³ Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.”

  ¹⁵ She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.  (NRSV)

Devotion

I am the kind of person who is always anxious about not having enough of something to get by.  It doesn't matter how much of something actually I have or how easy it is to get. I  constantly assess my amount of everything from dish soap and honey and then only use what I feel like I can "spare,"  because some deep part of me is afraid of running out and not being able to get more.  And while I am usually happy to share what I have with others when they request that I do so, a part of me also cringes at the thought that I may need that 1/2 cup of sugar or few pieces of paper later.

My fears are usually pretty baseless; after all, most of what I am so worried about is easily accessible by someone with my current means.  The widow in 1 Kings, though, has a much greater reason to fear running out of meal and oil.  A famine has struck the entire land and shows no signs of relenting any time soon.  Despite what has already been some strict enough rationing that has left herself and her child already on the brink of starvation, the widow is down to enough to make one final meal before they die.    Now, the prophet Elijah (a complete stranger to her)  asks her to spare a bit of that final handful of grain and tiny bit of oil to make him a cake.  Is it any wonder that she has second thoughts about obeying Elijah's request?

Whether what we are asked to give comes from our time, our talents, or our resources, it is hard to share somethings with others when we are afraid of running out of it ourselves...even when we feel Christ calling us to do so.  Still, if we all follow the Holy Spirit's lead, we can be assured that there will be enough of whatever it is to go around.  For the widow, having "enough" meant that she kept feeding Elijah, God miraculously kept providing enough meal and oil to keep both the prophet and her family alive for one more day.  And in the case of us, if the Holy Spirit is truly calling us to share something we have with others, then God will make sure that we will have what we need to get by...even in times of scarcity. 

What's even better news is that sooner or later, famines and other time of scarcity come to an end.  When we come through those times together and emerge on the other side, we eventually discover that God has given us what we need to not only survive but also thrive.  And we thrive best when we do so together.

If you feel the Holy Spirit calling you to share something that you are afraid of running out of, I hope you trust God enough to make the sacrifice.  Sharing might hurt for a bit, but God will make sure that there is enough to go around.  And there will be a day when our worries about scarcity come to an end and we arrive together into a time of abundance.

Prayer

Christ, you gave your very life for my sake.  Help me to be brave enough to share the things that seem scarce when the Spirit urges me to do so.  May I discern the difference between what I truly cannot afford to give up and what I cling to out of my own anxiety.  And when I a share what you have given me, may it always be enough to care for both myself and others.