Central Family,
 
This Sunday we will gather around the story of the Widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings 17:8-24. The word of the Lord comes again to Elijah, “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you” (vv.8-9) Elijah does what God says, and as he comes to the gate of the town, he sees a depressing sight; a poor widow, gathering sticks.  Any sympathy he might feel is overwhelmed by God’s directive; “Bring me a little water so I can drink,” he calls to her. And then he adds, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
 
The widow is at the end of her rope, and her response is depressing,
 
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.
 
It’s a sad and poignant statement, but Elijah will hear none of such talk. “Do not be afraid,” he counsels her; “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. 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 upon the earth.”
 
She goes and does what Elijah says – a remarkable act of faith for a woman so down in the dumps, so depressed, so close to death.  What about you? What about me? In whom or what do we place our trust?
 
Thomas Aquinas, probably the greatest Catholic theologian, a great saint from the Middle Ages, as he lay on his deathbed, everyone was gathered there watching when he would take his last breath. People heard a voice they believed to the voice of God. God spoke, “Thomas, you spoken of me well, what reward would ask for yourself?”  Thomas did not pause, he said, “Nothing but yourself, oh Lord, nothing but yourself.”
 
This is the wealth that we all long for, isn’t it?  This is the reward that we all yearn for, isn’t it?  This is the daily bread that we all desire, isn’t it? Nothing but the Lord!
 
Paul Johansson
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P.S.  Two things to make sure that you are part of; 1) The 60th Anniversary Banquet on September 21, and 2) The Building a Sending Church small groups that start at the end of the month.