In the book of 1Kings in the Bible, there is a well-known story that is told in Sunday school classes all over. In the middle of a massive drought, a widow and her son are starving- down to nothing. About to eat their last meal, then lay down and die. Literally. Desperation, survival, out of options. Weak, tired, hungry.
And then this crazy guy comes by and tells her to feed him, plus theirselves.
What! There isn’t enough! What are you asking?!
But to her credit, she does, and keeps feeding him throughout the drought, and neither her oil nor her flour run out until the end of the drought. – Here’s the original story, which is told much better-
I Kings 17:8- 15
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
Now, there are tons of different aspects to this story, but a new one hit me today.
Think of the value of that jar of oil and jug of flour. Never emptying in the middle of a wasteland. They would be priceless; highly prized and sought after.
We, as Christians, are the same.
We are filled with Christ, and overflowing with the treasure of Him! We are never emptied of Him as long as we are relying on Him to provide for us and be in us. We are something that cannot be ignored, a treasure chest sitting open in the middle of Times Square, highly accessible. With our obedience of what God asks of us, we carry the most valuable treasure EVER.
And that, my friends, is worth and meaning for your life.
thINKing........ 