October 15, 2012

1 Kings 19:13- Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

To understand this line completely you need to read all of 1 Kings 19 and even better, the whole story of Elijah in 1 Kings. But for the time being just know that Elijah was at a very low point and had run away in fear. He was completely alone, isolated, and ready to die. God provides for his body with rest and food, then confronts him with the above question. Actually, God asks him this twice, before and after a great epiphany. I guess the real reason I am a Christian is because of this question, “What are you doing here?” I’ve asked myself that, or perhaps it is better to say God confronts me with that question, on two different levels. In the big picture “What are you doing here?” means why am I alive, what is this mystery of existence that I am part of? The only answer I’ve ever found that satisfied me is that God created. On a smaller scale “What are you doing here?” makes me wonder what God is doing in my life and the world around me in the present. Is God just an abstract concept or, as the 23^rd Psalm says, a shepherd who leads? This is a question that brings vitality to life day by day, moment by moment. On both levels this question asks us to search our souls and confront what we truly believe. Even Plato knew that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” So… what are you doing here?