is there faith in Sidon?

This morning I reflected on the story from 1 Kings 17 about Elijah and the widow in Zarephath. There was drought in the land and as often happens when there is a calamity, people ask "What is the meaning of this?" "Where is God?"

God's prophet, Elijah is instructed by God to go and live outside of Israel. I'm sure that Elijah interpreted this to be a mission from God - he, the person of faith, was being sent to bring the message of God and faith to the people who lived there. Of course, the assumption is that the people of Sidon didn't have any significant faith in God.

When Elijah arrives, he asks the widow to give him some bread. Even though it was her last handful of flour, she proved to be faithful, and shared the little that she had with this out-of-towner... She passed the test of faith with flying colours! The answer to the question: is there faith in Sidon is a resounding YES! We must always be cautious of assuming that people "on the other side" of the border (whatever that border might be) have no knowledge of God already - before we even arrive!

But that's not the end of the story. The widow's son dies and she comes to Elijah asking if he has come to bring God's judgment on her. Elijah takes the boy up to his room and then expresses his own questions about God's judgement. Is God punishing this good woman? Elijah - the prophet of God - is being challenged to grow in his own faith. He went to Sidon to teach others about faithfulness but God's plan is to allow Elijah's to learn and grow in his own faith journey. The prejudice of his previous position is challenged by the faith of the woman, and then the frailty of his own faith is revealed by his response to the boys death.

Elijah leaves Sidon having received some of his most significant lessons about faith - at the hands of an surprising teacher... Jesus even makes reference (Luke 4:26) to the remarkable faith of this woman.

The challenge for us today is to humbly realise that there is faith in Sidon - We are encouraged to share our faith with people, but the story of Elijah and the Widow reminds us that we may also have something to learn from those we reach out to...