Persistence
This week is on Luke 18:1-8:
These verses are interesting because they say something about the character of God. The example Jesus uses is the stubborn unjust judge. The judge he describes doesn't fear God, or what people think. He is a law unto himself. He has no reason to listen to the widow. He could threaten the widow, or call on the people of the town to lock her up or beat her, but she's not worth the effort. A widow has no power. He ignores her at first.
He doesn't have any particular love for the widow. She has nothing to offer him. So when he finally caves in, it's not because he wants to help her, or that he's afraid of her. He's annoyed by her, and decides to help her because he doesn't want her to try to annoy him even more than she has already. There's no nobility in that motivation, yet because she is persistent she overcomes his stubbornness. It's the dripping water that breaks the rock.
What Jesus was saying here is, even if God was the stubborn uncaring figurehead of judgment a lot of people portray him to be, prayer would still be effective. Even if God turned his back and just wanted to exist apart from mankind, even in his complete sovereignty, prayer would still matter. Even though we have nothing to bribe him with, and in our own strength we can't force our will with him, we still could have a kind of influence through persistence. But that's not all Jesus is saying.
In portraying the judge, he is not saying that God is stubborn like that. He's saying the opposite. He's saying we're God's chosen ones, not some annoying irrelevant naggy widow. If persistence makes a difference in the worst circumstances, how much more effective must it be in the best? God does have love for us. And he does hear us and want to help us. We do matter to him. So we're even more influential than the widow.
Prayer is effective in seeking change. We shouldn't be afraid to repeat ourselves. God is not annoyed by us. He isn't reluctant to help. But even if he was, our prayers wouldn't be wasted because of the effect persistence has. Jesus asks us to always pray and not give up. We should do that.
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.’
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 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? 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?”
These verses are interesting because they say something about the character of God. The example Jesus uses is the stubborn unjust judge. The judge he describes doesn't fear God, or what people think. He is a law unto himself. He has no reason to listen to the widow. He could threaten the widow, or call on the people of the town to lock her up or beat her, but she's not worth the effort. A widow has no power. He ignores her at first.
He doesn't have any particular love for the widow. She has nothing to offer him. So when he finally caves in, it's not because he wants to help her, or that he's afraid of her. He's annoyed by her, and decides to help her because he doesn't want her to try to annoy him even more than she has already. There's no nobility in that motivation, yet because she is persistent she overcomes his stubbornness. It's the dripping water that breaks the rock.
What Jesus was saying here is, even if God was the stubborn uncaring figurehead of judgment a lot of people portray him to be, prayer would still be effective. Even if God turned his back and just wanted to exist apart from mankind, even in his complete sovereignty, prayer would still matter. Even though we have nothing to bribe him with, and in our own strength we can't force our will with him, we still could have a kind of influence through persistence. But that's not all Jesus is saying.
In portraying the judge, he is not saying that God is stubborn like that. He's saying the opposite. He's saying we're God's chosen ones, not some annoying irrelevant naggy widow. If persistence makes a difference in the worst circumstances, how much more effective must it be in the best? God does have love for us. And he does hear us and want to help us. We do matter to him. So we're even more influential than the widow.
Prayer is effective in seeking change. We shouldn't be afraid to repeat ourselves. God is not annoyed by us. He isn't reluctant to help. But even if he was, our prayers wouldn't be wasted because of the effect persistence has. Jesus asks us to always pray and not give up. We should do that.
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