The Cruse of Oil Shall Not Fail

Recently my wife joined a friend of ours named Amy, who spends almost all her time helping the poor and refugees in our community, to put together a fundraiser for a thirteen-year-old boy named Willard. He has cancer and is currently going through chemotherapy. We had the opportunity to join Amy in delivering the money that was raised along with a decorated Christmas tree on Sunday to this family who are originally from Burundi. They were touched by the offerings of so many, and Amy stayed with them as they opened the card with the money to help with their medical bills, a sum in the thousands. She texted us afterwards this note: “They had Willard count the money. His brother said, ‘Willard you are the richest kid on earth.’ Willard turned to his mom and handed it to her and said, ‘Here Mom, I don’t need money.’ Then he added that he wants to help people some day.” We were moved by his humble and selfless response to the gift and his desire—in his time of need and when he he is suffering—to give to others. That was a powerful example to us of the attitude of service and love that the Savior wants us to have towards others. Indeed, as He taught, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

               The scripture story that comes to mind as I think about this experience is that of the woman of Zarephath who was suffering in the famine at the time of Elijah. We read, “[Elijah] arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.” Here she was literally starving to death with her son, and a stranger came and asked her for bread and water. She responded, “As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Elijah then answered, “Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.” He promised her that if she would serve another in need first, her needs would be met. Incredibly, “she went and did according to the saying of Elijah.” What a sacrifice that must have been to take her last meal and instead of giving it to her son—who was surely desperate for food—give it to another in need. But the Lord’s promise through His servant was fulfilled: “She, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:10-16). She had found the truth of another beautiful gospel paradox: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38). If we will give to others, the Lord will give to us and bless us far more than we can imagine.

As we stood and talked with the mother of this boy with cancer, she told about their visits to the hospital and all the others in need she saw there. She was especially concerned for the doctor of her boy who apparently has cancer herself and talked of praying for her and wishing she could help her. We were amazed at her ability to mourn for and seek to comfort others while also mourning for the challenges of her own son. We were moved by this family’s faith in God and willingness to do what the Savior asks of his disciples: “Remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple” (Doctrine and Covenants 52:40). We learned that even if we feel that we are one of those “poor and needy, sick and afflicted,” we too can still remember others and mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort. And, in so doing, surely the promise of Elijah is symbolically for us too: “The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail.”