June 1, 2023

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8 “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’  4 “For some time he refused. But finally, he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

What it means

Here’s a good lesson about perseverance – Jesus shared this parable to drive home the point to His followers that at certain times in life, we just need to keep plugging away at whatever we want to accomplish, irregardless of how daunting the task may be.  In this story, there was no reason for the widow to have any hope at all in achieving justice – she had no money, no power, no authority whatsoever that she could use to her advantage.  She was simply stubborn and became such a thorn in the side of the judge that he finally gave in and granted her justice.  Jesus advises that we can parallel this tale with our lives – if we continue to beat down the doors of Heaven with our cries for mercy, how much more will a loving, kind, generous God grant us the desires of our heart than an unjust judge? Quite a bit, I would surmise…

What it means to me

Justice can be an elusive thing to try to make happen.  Far too often, the poor and oppressed get the short end of the stick in the justice system, and get tired and discouraged.  But Jesus encourages us to keep swinging – even when the odds don’t appear to be in our favor.  God eventually brings everything around to where it needs to be, and levels the playing field.  It may be during our lifetime, it may afterwards…but in any event, put your faith and trust in a sovereign, all-powerful God who always has our best interests at heart.

Love you guys, see you on Sunday!

In Christ,

Brian