When reading the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, I was reminded of the promotions offered at some well-known restaurant chains. To cater to our desire for value, for getting the most bang for our buck, these restaurants offer things like “bottomless” or “endless” fries. The fries just keep on coming and, at least for the time you are sitting there as a paying customer, they never run out. Now, these things are nice, if not exactly healthy, but there are two things in life that are “bottomless” and “endless” that we should be truly thankful for – God’s grace and love.
In the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:7-24), we can see God’s grace at work in a very tangible way. Elijah had been sent by God to the home of the widow, where God had said Elijah would be fed. Now, the widow had only a small amount of both flour and oil left in her home, enough for one last meal for her and her son. When she told Elijah this, he asked her to make a small loaf for him and something for herself and her son. He told her that God had said that the supply of flour would not be used up and the oil would not run dry. The widow did as Elijah asked and the result was endless flour and bottomless oil. This is what God’s grace is like, it never ends. His grace has been poured out from the beginning of time, it continues today, and will do so for eternity.
Just as God’s grace is endless, so too is His love. Scripture is full of verses that testify to this. For example, in 1 Chronicles 16:34, we read that we should give thanks to the Lord because His love endures forever. His love is bottomless! In Psalm 100:5, we are told that God is good and that His love and His faithfulness will endure forever, from generation to generation. His love is endless! And, the best part is that His endless love is so great that He gave His only Son, Jesus, so that we may experience that love forever in eternity with Him (John 3:16). But, unlike the “bottomless” and “endless” fries in restaurants, there is no price for that. It is free to all who believe in Jesus and give their lives to Him.
A Worshiper's Journal 