Barren

They were an upright family in the community. No one could dispute that this was a couple who followed the commandments and carefully considered their conduct. For all their moral purity socially they were still an oddity. They were odd because there was no offspring.

At the advanced ages it was written off, because of her. In a community where that was considered a failing, you can appreciate more their integrity and character in the face of the shame.

What it is to be barren. What it is to be fruitless.

Men cannot empathise with the plight women face, but men too can go through barren seasons. The inability to sow the seed is another source of shame.

The emptiness inside. All the outer signs of flourishing and prospering can never really hide the fact that you’re empty inside and have nothing to give. Nothing to show for your time except ashes.

That sense of emptiness inside can be oppressive. Not just in terms of physical fruit. People reach that stage where they ‘achieve’ so much financially, materially and professionally but in terms of lasting fruit they have nothing to show. At times like that there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of a meaning in life.

Yet the word of God makes the difference to the situation. Even as in the beginning where in the darkness He called the light, God can look in situations that seem so dark and hopeless and can bring out delight. Just as in the barren desert where He can bring an oasis,so the parched and barren life is just the right environment for the miracle that only God bring about. It’s not say God wants us barren. It is to say that how darkness cannot overcome light, so there are lives in the dark that can be shown the light and make a change with Jesus.

Beyond the physical there remains the way in which God won’t let His children be fruitless.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden