Which Came First: The Chicken or the “Seed”?

“Now...concerning Giving and Receiving...” – Php 4:15

We may never be able to know what prompted the Shunamite woman to offer to take care of Elisha the prophet. Nevertheless, one thing we can be sure of is that, contrary to what fund-raising preachers are wont to declare, it wasn’t because “she needed a miracle.”

She may have been childless, but all evidence shows she had accepted her fate. She never hinted to the prophet that she needed anything in return for her hospitality, and when asked directly by Elisha, she still claimed she had no need. Even after the prophet offered the blessing of a child, her maintained scepticism indicates her mind never went that way.

However, was her life bettered by her decision to honour the prophet? Undoubtedly YES! She supernaturally got a child against all biological odds, miraculously got same boy resurrected years later, and even after Elisha’s death, the legacy of her hospitality brought her the full restoration of ALL her lost properties. Giving does pay.

“Give,” our Lord says, “and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom,” (Lk 6:38).

There’s always a reward for giving to God, honouring his servant, or simply being a blessing to others. The problem only arises when our giving is done not because we want to BLESS but because we want to GET.

It is unfortunate that Christians would only give to the pastor who cajoules them with some fantastic reward. The same people who would empty their bank accounts to give a “heaven-provoking SEED” to a strange man of God would never think upon themselves to buy simple groceries for their local pastor.

This is a key lesson we must learn from the Shunamite woman. She saw a basic need of the itinerant prophet, and sought to be of help in whatever little way she could.

Start today... “and your Father who sees in secret Himself shall reward you openly.” (Mt 6:4)

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN