Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

Women: Unshaken Faith
Jessy Thomas
Phoenix MTC, Arizona
 

28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

 
Jesus had gone to Tyre and Sodon, away from His own who were at this time persecuting him for his service to the people. Here, Jesus encounters a woman who pleads and begs Jesus to deliver her daughter from a demonic spirit. Jesus at first keeps silent and His disciples seeing this woman as more of a nuisance asks Jesus to send this woman away. Jesus  says his service is meant for His own people, the Jews, and compares all the other Gentiles to dogs. He does this intentionally to put the woman down, to test her faith on Him as the Messiah. The woman, being a Gentile, continues to entreat Jesus, asking Him “can’t even the crumbs that fall off the master’s table be used to feed her own?” In other words, she is willing to take even the leftover grace and mercy that Jesus can give her. Seeing the woman’s determination and faith, Jesus heals her daughter.
What do we learn from this or how does this apply in our lives? Firstly, Jesus going to the dark corners of the country teaches us that we as Christians, who already have been blessed with hearing the gospel, should consider it our duty and responsibility to spread it to the ones who are deprived of God’s grace and mercy.
Secondly, many a time when we pray and plead to God, He may stay silent and we feel that our endless requests are being ignored. We at times have to go through intense humiliation to receive God’s grace. When Christ intends to honor us most, He humbles us to make us recognize our own unworthiness. We all have to come to Christ in utmost humility, confess  our sins and unworthiness and beg for His grace and mercy. And just like Jesus is touched by the woman’s faith, He certainly will be touched by our faith and the need to be cleansed of our soul’s miseries. The smallest of Christ’s mercy or the smallest of the crumbs of the Bread of life is very valuable to each and every one of us, sinners, and we all need to have the unshaken faith like the woman and be persistent, enduring and persevering every day  for the deliverance of our souls.


 

PRAYER

Our Father and our God, we thank you for the gift of salvation you have offered to us by dying on the cross for us. Help us to be channels of your service to the ones who don’t know about this gift. Please equip us with the unshaken faith like the woman so that we can be true witnesses in your kingdom. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
 
“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matt 24:13

 

Popular posts from this blog

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

Word for the day by Christian Education Forum