Saturday, April 16, 2016 [Keep Going to Him!!]
"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'" (Luke 18:1-3 NIV)
Jesus was always teaching and still is, through Holy Spirit! On this particular occasion, Jesus was teaching about persistence in prayer, a concept that is difficult for us to grasp in a world where "easier is better," where the destination has become more important than the journey.
The heroine of this parable is a woman, a widow. Living in a male-dominated society this woman seemingly has no man in her life to fight for her. She is a second-class citizen appealing to a judge that doesn't even care about first-class citizens or even God! Jesus used this woman's example to show his disciples "that they should always pray and not give up." This phrase might be better translated "to show them that they NEED TO PRAY, again and again, and not lose heart;" to show them that in spite of whatever power or privilege they think they have, the way to the heart of the judge is the path of "no other choices." The widow appealed to the judge in this parable because she could turn to no one else for justice.
As Jesus' followers we need to realize that we are very much in her same position. She had nowhere else to turn and neither do we. Sure, we may turn to other options and we often manufacture ways that will get us what we think we need. We take on the role of "vigilantes," taking "justice" into our own hands, and following a path where God is not. However, what do we miss out on? Is there something to be gained in the journey? What is there about God's heart (or your/my heart) that is being revealed in our "coming back" over and over again? What is being established or grown in us in the journey of persistence? Yes, we have an agenda - we want the result of our plea. However, would you consider the possibility that God has more in store for us than just the result or destination of our journey? Look at how Jesus ends this parable in verse 8: "I tell you, he [the Lord] will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
The widow is the heroine of the parable not because she finally got what she wanted, but rather because of her faith to keep coming back. Family, don't give up on God! Keep coming back to Him in prayer. He's building something in us through our persistence, something that we cannot see and don't fully understand, but something that He desires for us. He's a Good Father and He gives good gifts to His kids (James 1:17).
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