God says, 'I will measure my people by the one standard that counts. It’s very simple. Are people hungry? Feed them. Are people sick? Help them. Are people oppressed? Stick up for them. Are the widows lonely? Visit them. Are there uneducated children? Teach them. Are people rejected because of the color of their skin? Befriend them.' The widow of Zarephath fed Elijah even though she had but a handful of flour and a little oil in a jug. (1 Kings 17:7—24) In this story she is recklessly generous. She gives the last of what she has to Elijah.We should all pause occasionally to ask if we are living with that kind of generous spirit. Maybe we have an abundance of oil and flour in our jars. Maybe we only have a little. Maybe we have a huge flour jar, or perhaps a very small one. No matter what we have, we can still learn to live with a generous spirit. John Ortberg
About This Quote

In the Bible, the widow of Zarephath is a woman whose generosity greatly helps a prophet. She is a good example of how being generous can influence the world around you. She is a woman who has it all: a home, a husband, and a talent for cooking. What she doesn’t have is money to buy food or ingredients to make delicious meals.

With her husband’s death, she has lost everything except her little jar of oil and flour for baking bread. The people in her town ask her for help with their hunger and sickness. They ask her to provide medicine and food for them when they are sick or hungry. She doesn’t have enough money for this, but she does possess what they need most: an unlimited supply of love and kindness."If I do not feed them, they will die," she tells the people who come to her door asking for help.

(1 Kings 17:12) They tell her that they need food, but what they really need is love and kindness from someone like her. So, she stocks up on flour and oil and supplies them with food when they ask her to do so."I don’t know if I am strong enough to survive," she tells Elijah when he comes to visit. (1 Kings 17:15) Elijah asks if there is anything left in the jar that will help someone who has been widowed when his wife dies.

Though there is only a little in there, it is all that remains in their household. So Elijah asks the widow if he can take some of this oil with him when he leaves town so he can use it in his work as a prophet.She says no because it would be wrong to take something that belongs to someone else."But I am very grateful," she says. "You are also very kind to me." (1 Kings 17:23) When Elijah visits again after his work as a prophet has begun, he takes some of this oil with him to use in his ministry.

He uses it on his face so that he can be recognized by other prophets at Mount Horeb."What are you doing?" the widow asks him when she sees him do this."I am taking care of my face," Elijah answers."Your face? You mean you are taking care of your face?" She repeats this question three times before finally understanding what he's trying to tell her:"My lord…my lord

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More Quotes By John Ortberg
  1. If you want to do the work of God, pay attention to people. Notice them. Especially the people nobody else notices.
  2. When we live in the love of God, we begin to pay attention to people the way God pays attention to us.
  3. Every day you and I walk through God's shop. Every day we brush up against objects of incalculable worth to Him. People. Every one of them carries a price tag, if only we could see it.
  4. If we are serious about loving God, we must begin with people, all people. And especially we must learn to love those that the world generally discards.
  5. So it goes for those of us who live in a cul-de-sac, where babies are brought home from the hospital and watched over, where hearts stop and feet slip, where we wonder if there is a hidden road that leads somewhere. We believe and we...
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