Grace for the Grey Area

Sunday’s sermon had me all in my feelings.  Y’all I went on an emotional rollercoaster.  My pastor said that these were scattered thoughts.  Well, I don’t want to know how I would have made it if the thoughts were together!  I just made myself laugh out loud, but I’m so serious.  The sermon came from II Kings 4:38-41.  The text picks up from the previous Sunday’s sermon.  In that sermon, we learn of the Shunammite woman’s response to tragedy.  You can search the website for “It Will Be Alright” if you want to know more about her story.  In yesterday’s sermon, the prophet Elisha returned to Gilgal and encountered another problem.  Now we’re going to dig deeper into this sermon recap.

Elisha is back in Gilgal and working with the sons of the prophets.  Famine is in the land.  Although food is in short supply, Elisha sends his servant to put on a pot and boil stew for the sons so that they can eat.  The servant goes out into the field looking for herbs.  The Hebrew word for herbs means “light.”  While out searching for herbs, the servant comes across a wild vine.  The vine is full of wild gourds.  The Hebrew word for gourd means “crooked.”  The servant gathers up a lapful of the wild gourds even though he doesn’t know what they are.  He slices them and adds them to the stew.

Hmmmm….is it wise to add random ingredients into the stew when you don’t know what they are?  If your answer is “probably not,” you just might make it in a wilderness situation.  The servant was sent out with a specific purpose, and he got distracted.  He was thrown off course by something that looked interesting.  Does that sound like someone you know?  By someone, I mean me.  And if we’re being honest, it’s probably you at times.  God has placed purpose and promise in your life.  You start off on course with your eyes on the prize and find yourself drifting to grab ahold of an intriguing object that catches your eye.  You don’t mean any harm.  You add this intriguing person, habit, career, __(Fill in the Blank)___ into your life without knowing what it is.  It’s time to taste the stew and see what you’ve created.

The sons of prophets taste the stew that Elisha’s servant has mixed up.  Immediately, they are alarmed.  They cry out to Elisha and say that there is death in the pot!  Oooops.  Seems those interesting gourds that the servant wandered upon had deadly consequences.  Elisha sent the servant out looking for light, and he returned with something crooked.  And the crooked additions have poisoned the entire pot of stew.  Now what?  Do we throw out the entire pot of stew?  Remember there is a famine in the land.  They need food and supplies are limited.

We also need to acknowledge that it is by no fault of their own that they are poisoned.  They are learning more of God.  They are doing the will of God when the pot gets contaminated.  Elisha’s servant did not mean any harm.  He was just trying to add more variety to their intake.  Thankfully, the sons of the prophets immediately stopped eating when they noticed that something was off.  Not only did they stop eating, they also said verbally declared that the pot was poisoned.  Often, we encounter atmospheres and situations that are off kilter.  Maybe we want to be polite, so we don’t address how toxic the environment is.  Let’s learn from these men and address the situations that are toxic in our lives.  We don’t have to continue to eat contaminated stew.  It will kill us.  So, now we have circled back to the previous question.  Do we throw the entire pot away?

Elisha hears the cries for distress and provides a remedy.  His solution was not dramatic and elaborate.  He added flour to the pot, and everyone was able to eat the once contaminated stew without dying.  I know, I know. Flour.  Flour is used to make bread and is symbolic of Jesus.  You may know Him as the Bread of Life.  Elisha puts Jesus in the pot, and the entire situation changes.  This was no black and white situation.  Shades of grey permeate the entire episode.  The grace of God settled the matter for all involved.  We don’t have to throw the entire pot away when life gets complicated, but we do need to always bring Jesus into the pot.  #wepreach

Questions to chew on (don’t worry they’re not contaminated):

• Have you ever been distracted from your purpose by something that seemed interesting? If so, were there any negative consequences?
• How do you handle toxic situations? Do you verbally address them or suffer in silence?
• Are you connected to people that emit light or crookedness?
• How do you guard your pot (your environment)?
• Do you extend grace when others harm you?