We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk.
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Luke 18.1-8 (NLT)
One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”
6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”
Devotional Thought:
In this story, Jesus is highlighting at least two things: persistence in prayer and the promise of God’s justice. The woman knew what she wanted and she knew who could give it to her. Whether he gave it or not was beyond her control, but that did not matter to her. She was willing to say what she wanted – out loud, day and night, over and over – whether she got it or not, because saying it was how she remembered who she was. She was a God fearer and knew of God’s concern for the widow. She knew Psalm 146. She had read Deuteronomy. Even though the Judge did not fear God or people, she knew that he was supposed to. He was not doing his job. ‘Give me justice! Do your job! Answer me now or answer me later, but I am coming back every day and every night – forever – until you deal with me’, she seems to be saying.
By the time Luke wrote this story a few years later, things had gotten worse for followers of Jesus. Rome was standing over Jerusalem like a vulture over a corpse and there was no sign of the kingdom coming any time soon. Jesus had said he would return, but he had not yet done this. Jesus’ followers were losing heart, so Luke repeated the story Jesus had told, about the wronged widow who would not stop pleading her case. He was saying, ‘Be persistent. Don’t lose heart. I will return. Justice will come.’
I am not sure what you are facing today. I don’t know if you are experiencing injustice, if you have been praying for something for a long time, or if you simply long for Jesus to return. But I do know that this story continues to inspire us to never give up, continue praying, continue seeking justice, and remain steadfast in the knowledge that Jesus will return and God’s justice will reign in all the earth.
A Prayer for Justice:
Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world as your love would have it:
a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or
poor;
a world where the riches of creation are shared,
and everyone can enjoy them;
a world where different races and cultures live
in harmony and mutual respect;
a world where peace is built with justice, and
justice is guided by love.
Give us the inspiration and courage to build it,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Rev. Joseph Wood, PhD
Dean of Students and Lecturer in Theology and Church History