The Syrup Tin

During a lockdown clear out of my kitchen cupboards I came across an almost empty, very sticky bottle of Tate and Lyle’s Golden Syrup, and it reminded me of the time when, as a child, I asked my mum why there was a macabre picture of a dead lion and bees on the front of the syrup tin. She told me that it was a reference to a Bible story, and the moral was that good things come out of bad situations. I am not sure if her answer was correct, and it certainly didn’t explain why the picture was on the syrup tin, but something did strike a chord – there are several situations in the Bible where light and hope follow on from darkness.  

Take, for example, the story of the prophet Elijah, hiding under a bush in the desert, fleeing from the wrath of Queen Jezebel who had put a price on his head. Imagine what it must have been like for Elijah, stuck under a prickly scratchy broom bush in the searing heat of the desert sun, scared stiff that he would be found and killed. It is no wonder that in his despair he said the words, “I have had enough Lord…..’

We are now several weeks into lockdown and school closures, and I imagine a lot of people feel like Elijah. They have had enough – school closures, home learning, supermarket queues, not seeing friends, family and loved ones, rain, bad news on the TV.  They may also have cried out in despair, ‘I have had enough Lord’. I know I have.

Let’s get back to Elijah – he falls asleep and is visited by an angel who feeds him bread and water. Elijah gets not only the physical strength to keep moving, but also the inner strength to continue with the Lord’s work.

At his lowest ebb Elijah is encouraged by his faith in God, and at our lowest ebb we can do the same. When we say, ‘I have had enough Lord’, we encounter God. Our dark place can mark a new start and the renewal of hope. From our place of despair can come resilience and the knowledge that we can get through more things than we ever thought possible. A good example of this is the recent celebrations for VE day which showed us how nations grew again out of the ruins of World War Two to be even better places than they were before. Our current lives are full of worry and stress, but let’s follow the example of Elijah and reach out to God with the assurance that He hears our prayers.

Prayer

Lord, let me see you. Draw me closer to you through this experience so that I can see your face in a way I never have before. Remind me that you are in charge and that what seems so huge to me is small to you.

Challenge

What exactly is the story behind the lion on the syrup tin? You can find out by reading the story of Samson’s marriage and the riddle he sets about the lion in Judges 14.

Written by Alison Rogers

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