1 Kings 17:17-24 (NRSV)
Read 1 Kings 17:17-24 on biblegateway.com
Verse 17After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. Verse 18She then said to Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!" Verse 19But he said to her, "Give me your son." He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed. Verse 20He cried out to the Lord, "O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?" Verse 21Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, "O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again." Verse 22The Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. Verse 23Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, "See, your son is alive." Verse 24So the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth."
Devotion
For many people of faith, like the woman in the Elijah story, it is difficult to eliminate the notion that our sin causes our suffering. Because randomness is difficult to accept, someone must be blamed for suffering and death in the world. Because a good God who loves us would not allow us to experience pain and death, suffering must be our responsibility. God gives life because God is generous and God takes life because we are selfish sinners. The second half of that equation continues to cause much heartache and confusion. Elijah restores the woman’s son to life and the equation is reversed. God promises life, but suffering and death happen because we are finite creatures. We die because we are human, not because we sin.
Prayer
Loving God, sustain us with your presence in the midst of suffering we cannot understand. Amen.