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Testimonies for the Church Volume 6
after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house,
fell sick; and his sickness was so sore that there was no breath left in
him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou
man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance,
and to slay my son? And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he
took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he
abode, and laid him upon his own bed.... And he stretched himself
upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord.... And the Lord
heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again,
and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out
of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and
Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by
this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord
in thy mouth is truth.”
Verses 15-24
.
God has not changed. His power is no less now than in the days
of Elijah. And no less sure now than when spoken by our Saviour is
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the promise that Christ has given: “He that receiveth a prophet in the
name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward.”
Matthew 10:41
.
To His faithful servants today as well as to His first disciples
Christ’s words apply: “He that receiveth you receiveth Me, and he
that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me.”
Verse 40
. No act of
kindness shown in His name will fail to be recognized and rewarded.
And in the same tender recognition Christ includes even the feeblest
and lowliest of the family of God. “Whosoever shall give to drink,”
He says, “unto one of these little ones”—those who are as children in
their faith and their knowledge of Christ—a cup of cold water only in
the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in nowise lose
his reward.”
Verse 42
.
Poverty need not shut us out from showing hospitality. We are to
impart what we have. There are those who struggle for a livelihood and
who have great difficulty in making their income meet their necessities;
but they love Jesus in the person of His saints and are ready to show
hospitality to believers and unbelievers, trying to make their visits
profitable. At the family board and the family altar the guests are made
welcome. The season of prayer makes its impression on those who
receive entertainment, and even one visit may mean the saving of a
soul from death. For this work the Lord makes a reckoning, saying: “I
will repay.”