September 3, 2023

In Exodus 3:1-15, God speaks to Moses through a bush which burned, but was not consumed by fire.  Moses was a descendant of Abraham, and Abraham's son Isaac and grandson Jacob.   Each of these men was called to lead the Israelites to a new land.   Why did God tell these men to move his people from their homes to unknown lands?  The simple answer is food.   The people migrated to escape widespread famine in the land that was known to them.  

We can wonder how the people felt after being told that they must leave everything they knew - their homes, the security of a place they understood - to travel vast distances to a land about which they knew nothing.  They would face many dangers in their journey, and likely would not be welcomed by those already living in the new land.  They would have to rebuild their homes, and their lives.  They did not even know when they would find food to end their hunger.  

Some people likely wanted to stay.  They did not want to leave the comforts of the familiar.   Others might have gotten scared or frustrated during the journey and sought to turn back.  But God said that they must move forward.  Their survival depended upon it.

What do these lessons say to us today?  We also are being called to move forward to new things.  Every command that God gave to Abraham's lineage to move his people was due to food insecurity.  Food is still a need in today's world, even here in N.W. Ohio.  God continues to call us to move forward.  The commercial kitchen is in response to that calling.  We are building a place where food, some of which might otherwise be wasted, can be prepared into nutritious meals in frozen form.  We will partner with churches and agencies to make those meals available to people who need it.  This is the model that has been used successfully by La Soupe in Cincinnati, an organization which is helping us to refine our plans.

This is where God is calling us to go.  Today, we cannot even begin to imagine the impact we will have.  The ability to provide food to those in need will serve as a blessing, over and over again, across generations. 

Our capital campaign slogan in support of the kitchen was Expect a Miracle.  Like Moses, we have been told by God to move forward.   We don't know exactly what the future will look like.   But we know that, if we follow God's calling, every step which we take will be met with miracles.