Life Giving 11: Life Giving in Odd Situations

A friend called recently. She was in an odd situation and wondered where God was in that picture.

She went to the traditional wise ones in her world, and they assured her that God only does things one way and therefore she could rest assured that God was not in that situation, and she was terribly wrong to be there too.

The Christian art of emotional and spiritual assault in the name of holiness is still alive and well.

My mind went to Elijah, the man of God. He was sent by God to live with a Gentile widow. I could just about write the script for the gossip in that town.

“That foreigner who suddenly showed up at Widow Jones’ place sure isn’t friendly. Wonder where she found him. And have you noticed that she never goes shopping anymore? And he doesn’t work either. I wonder if in addition to being an adulterer, he is also a thief. Who would have thought that Widow Jones, of all people, would end up in such a twisted, sick, relationship? Tsk, tsk.”

I told my friend that her situation was indeed odd. I also put some language to the risks that were involved so she could weigh her alternatives honestly. I told her I couldn’t speak for God, but that He was certainly capable of speaking for Himself.

There is something life giving about creating a bigger picture for a person and trusting them to be able to wrestle with the variables.

Copyright by Arthur Burk

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