Reading the story of Elijah and the widow, I remember the words shared by a synod leader, “When people act out of a sense of scarcity, compassion is usually forgotten.” His point was that care and ministry become impossible when a congregation stops worrying about its people or those they serve.
In the midst of a long drought, the Lord sends prophet Elijah to Sidon to seek out a widow who will feed him. When Elijah reaches the city’s gates, he sees a woman he assumes must be the widow. He asks for some water and a morsel of bread. Although she pleads that she hasn’t baked any bread and only a little meal, she answers his request and the widow, her son and Elijah eat for days.
Widows were among the most vulnerable members of a community. Yet she answers God’s call to offer hospitality to a stranger who has just arrived at the city gates. In the midst of the scarcity of a famine, God’s abundance is experienced by the widow and Elijah. Perhaps, that’s a takeaway here—God’s love means we can always operate out of a place of abundance.
Gracious God, your love knows no scarcity. May my heart share that abundance. Amen. —