#DailyDevotion What Is Your God Like?
Luke 182“In a town there was a judge who didn’t fear God or care what people thought. 3In that town there was also a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Get me justice and defend me against my enemy!’ 4“For a while he refused to do anything, but then he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I’ll have to see that she gets justice, or she’ll keep coming until she wears me out.’” 6The Lord added, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And won’t God get justice for His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night? Is He slow to help them? 8I tell you, He will quickly get justice for them. But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
In parables there are usually some points of comparison. In wanting to teach his disciples to always pray and never give up the comparison is with the disciples and the widow. Strangely enough, the ‘unjust judge’ as he often called doesn’t represent God our Father but rather how we often think God is like, which of course is not true. Come to think of it the widow is not how we often are but rather how we should be.
So the Father is not like the judge who you have to keep on pestering, bothering and bending his ear for him to listen to you. Our Father know what we need before we even open our mouths. (Matt. 7) It is written in Isaiah 6524“Then it will happen that before they call I will answer and while they’re still speaking I will listen.” We do not have a Father who wants to put us off like our parents who say maybe, or next year, hoping we will forget about it by then. What is on our hearts and the things bothering us is important to him.
As we look at the widow, how does she pray for justice? She simply doesn’t let up until she at least gets a hearing. How often do we cease in praying thinking our Father in heaven hasn’t heard, hasn’t listened and refused to give us what we desire in prayer? If you are praying with faith in Jesus’ name, trusting in the promises of God and God seems to be telling you no, then the only reasons I can think of for not getting it, right now, is the thing you are praying for is selfish (James 4), it is not good for you, or it is not according to his will. Sometimes we also do not faith with faith but we are only making doubtful wishes as if our Father is some wishing well or slot machine.
But if we are praying with faith, in the name of Jesus, something that we know is God’s will, he will answer in the manner, time, amount, etc., that is best. The widow is praying for justice. Jesus says, “won’t God get justice for His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night? Is He slow to help them? 8I tell you, He will quickly get justice for them.” Jesus is not lying. Your Father in heaven will get justice for you who cry to him day and night. There are two places our Father metes out justice and where you should be looking for it. One is on the cross where Jesus suffered and atoned for all the sins of the world. The other is the Last Judgment where all who did not find justice in Jesus through faith in him will be given what they deserved. That is not to say, the Lord will not work in our present world system to give justice to those who cry to him. However in the context of Jesus saying the Father will quickly get justice for those who cry to him, Jesus is headed for the cross and to accomplish justice there.
There on the cross Jesus accomplishes the act upon which all people should put their faith and hope in. For on the cross the justice of God is completed. The Father is reconciled to you and to all people there. Our debts are cancelled for they have been paid by Jesus. But also, what you have against your fellows, justice there too has been met. Their sins against you has been atoned for. But, who would believe it? Jesus asks the question, “But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” He has come and given us justice. Will you believe it?
Heavenly Father, grant that we may always find our justice in your Son Jesus Christ and may we never give up in prayer seeking your will be done in our lives as your will is done in heaven. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.