Primary Agent...
A reading for Tuesday, January 17, 2017: 1 Kings 17:8-14.
When it comes to serving the Lord there are two things to always remember.
The first is that God is the one who sets the agenda. In the story from 1 Kings, the Word of the Lord comes to Elijah and sends him to the widow at Zarephath. As a faithful Jewish prophet, perhaps it would never have occurred to Elijah to help the widow when so many of his own people were in need. However, he obeyed God and did what was expected of him. We too serve not our own self-interests but those God to whom God sends us. When we read the scriptures, if we take seriously what it says, then we are sent to the poor, the homeless, the orphan, and all those in need of God's grace and mercy.
Second, when we serve the Lord we do not go alone or under our own power. It was not Elijah who prevented the oil and the meal from emptying, but was the power of God. We too do not serve with only our own resources, but through prayer and the work of a community of God's people we are able to accomplish more than we can alone. Serving the Lord is hard work and it's not done in isolation or independence. We need God and we need each other...
When it comes to serving the Lord there are two things to always remember.
The first is that God is the one who sets the agenda. In the story from 1 Kings, the Word of the Lord comes to Elijah and sends him to the widow at Zarephath. As a faithful Jewish prophet, perhaps it would never have occurred to Elijah to help the widow when so many of his own people were in need. However, he obeyed God and did what was expected of him. We too serve not our own self-interests but those God to whom God sends us. When we read the scriptures, if we take seriously what it says, then we are sent to the poor, the homeless, the orphan, and all those in need of God's grace and mercy.
Second, when we serve the Lord we do not go alone or under our own power. It was not Elijah who prevented the oil and the meal from emptying, but was the power of God. We too do not serve with only our own resources, but through prayer and the work of a community of God's people we are able to accomplish more than we can alone. Serving the Lord is hard work and it's not done in isolation or independence. We need God and we need each other...
"The God we worship must be the primary agent and not just a useful assistant
for engagement in the local and everyday."
-Alan J. Roxburgh
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