Relentless for Justice
Read Luke 18:1-8
Luke 18:1-8 (NRSV)
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ’Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ’Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
Will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.
-Luke 18:7,8 (NRSV)
IN the parable of the widow and the unjust judge, we meet an extraordinary woman who refuses to accept her fate. She voices opposition to injustice without relenting. As a result of her persistence, even the unjust judge is prompted to act.
If even an unjust judge can be moved to grant justice, then imagine how much God desires to help those who are wronged. God looks upon the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow with deep concern for their plight. With our help, God can respond. The image of God wanting justice gives me hope as I think of Darfur, Sudan, where more than 300,000 people have died in the past three years as a result of civil unrest, lack of food, and disease. It is probably the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today.
While I am easily overwhelmed and feel discouraged, I draw strength from our God who does not forget Darfur. The cries of people around the world do not go unheard. I pray that Christians will unrelentingly pray, demonstrate, and call for peace with justice on behalf of our brothers and sisters everywhere.
After living what I felt was a ’decent’ life, my time on earth came to the end.
The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what I thought to be a court house.
The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat by the defense table.
As I looked around I saw the ’prosecutor.’
He was a villainous looking gent who snarled as he stared at me. He definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen.
I sat down and looked to my left and there,,, sat My Attorney, a kind and gentle looking man whose appearance seemed so familiar to me, I felt I knew Him.
The corner door flew open,,, and there appeared the Judge, in full flowing robes.
He commanded an awesome presence,,, as He moved across the room ,I couldn’t take my eyes off of Him...
As He took His seat behind the bench,,, He said,, ’Let us begin.’
The prosecutor rose and said,
’My name is Satan,,, and I am here to show you why this man belongs in hell.’
He proceeded to tell of lies that I told, things that I stole, and In the past when I cheated others Satan told of other horrible Perversions that were once in my life and the more he spoke, the further down in my seat I sank.
I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t look at anyone, even my own Attorney, as the Devil told of sins that even I had completely,,, forgotten about.
As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about me, I was equally upset at My Attorney, who sat there silently not Offering any form of defense at all.
I knew I had been guilty of those things, but I had done some good in my life - couldn’t that at least equal out part of the harm I’d done?
Satan finished with a fury and said, ’This man belongs in hell, he is guilty of all that I have charged ,and there is not a person who can prove otherwise...’
And when it was His turn,,, My Attorney first asked if He might approach the bench,,, The Judge allowed this over the strong objection of Satan,,, and beckoned Him to come forward.
As He got up and started walking, I was able to see Him in His full splendor and majesty.
I realized why He seemed so familiar;,,, this was Jesus,,, representing me, my Lord and my Savior.
He stopped at the bench and softly said to the Judge,,,, ’Hi, Dad,’ and then He turned to address the court.
’Satan was correct in saying that this man had sinned,,, I won’t deny any of these allegations,,, And, yes, the wage of sin is death, and this man deserves to be punished..’
Then ,,,Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father, with outstretched arms and proclaimed, ’However, I died on the cross so that this person might have eternal life and he has accepted Me as his Savior,,, so he is Mine.’
My Lord continued with, ’His name is written in the Book of Life, and no one can snatch him from Me.
Satan still does not understand yet. This man is not to be given justice, but rather mercy....’
As Jesus sat down,
He quietly paused, looked at His Father and said,
’There is nothing else that needs to be done.’ For you see , I did it all one day at Calvary ...
’I’ve done it all.’
The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down. The following words bellowed from His lips..
’This man is free.’you see ,because of that long hot day on Calvary.
The penalty for his crimes has already been paid,,,paid in full.
’Case dismissed....’
As my Lord led me away, I could hear Satan ranting and raving, ’I won’t give up, I will win,,, the next one....’
I asked Jesus as He gave me my instructions where to go next, ’Have you ever lost a case?’
Christ lovingly smiled and said,
’Everyone that has come to Me and asked Me to represent them has received the same verdict as you,
~Paid In Full~
’Stop telling God how big your storm is.
Instead, tell the storm how big your God is!’
