Persistence

Luke 18:1-8 NIV

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 about men. 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 about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "

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?"

How long should we keep asking?

At one time or another, probably every Christian wonders about this very question.

Sometimes, God's answer is "no." But that's still an answer.

When we read the parable of the "persistent widow," the lesson is definitely that of never giving up.

But the key is "what" we never give up on.

We might read this story and think, "if I just keep asking and never give up, God will eventually give me what I want."

Well, as the Rolling Stones said, "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might just find...you get what you need."

We should never give up on God. We should not give up on God's love, justice and grace.

And we should never stop asking that those gifts of justice and grace would come into our lives.

We don't know what shape those things may take. Very possibly, God's work in our lives may not take the shape we imagined.

But we have a need not to give up. That's why Jesus told the parable, Luke tells us. So that his disciples would "pray always, and not give up."

Take a couple of moments and think about the places where you're tempted to give up. Give those things to God. However things turn out, God will not leave us, and his justice will flow quickly to his children.

Prayer: God, with your help, may we see justice come quickly. We pray for the end of war, violence and intolerance, in our lives and in the world around us. Help us to never give up on the big things that seem impossible.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Scripture for Tomorrow (no blog): Jeremiah 31:27-34

We'll see you at SOTH tomorrow for the fall festival! 9 AM Craft Show, kids' games and inflatibles; 6 PM Trunk or Treat and costume contest at 7PM, SOTH Praise Band outdoor worship at 8PM. No bonfire this year due to burn ban and drought. We'll see you there!

Worship this Sunday at SOTH: 9 & 11 AM with SS for all ages at 10:15!