---

Last week we examined the two reasons why people give up on God. One reason is because of the hurt they have experienced in the church. Their bad experiences may have been the fault of the church or may have stemmed from their own false expectations of finding the perfect church.

They become disillusioned when they realize that a church without any problems does not exist.

Because a church is filled with people and no person is perfect, we are left with an imperfect church.

The second reason people give up on God, is not because of the church, but because of their preconceived ideas of what they believe God must be like.

These thoughts about God are unfounded but are entrenched in tradition and our bad experiences of authority. To understand God we must come to His Word.

Jesus taught a story that helps us understand the heart of God, the Father, so that we do not give up on God:

"There was a judge in a certain city," he said, "who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, 'Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.' The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, 'I don't fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!'"

Then the Lord said, "Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?" (Luke 18:1-8.)

Let's look at some historical background regarding this passage. During the time Jesus lived Israel was under the Roman Government. (You probably remember the beginning of many Christmas pageants: the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus demanded that people return to their birth city for a census, which is why the virgin Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem when Jesus was born.)

Although under the strict government of the Empire, the Jews were allowed by Rome to judge most of their own civil laws. Because many villages were remote, appointed judges travelled to these villages to set up temporary court rooms to judge civil matters.

In this passage, Jesus makes reference to this cultural and civil reality. Notice that the judge did not fear God or care about people. This judge seems to represent dishonesty and corrupt power.

A widow of the city came and continually asked for her case to be heard.

Why would Jesus use the example of a widow rather than anyone else? In his culture, a widow was totally dependent on society in order to survive.

It was difficult for widows to earn a living, get a job, or even maintain what they had accumulated in life.

I remember being in Nigeria, and hearing how a new widow's extended family literally came to her house and raided whatever goods they wanted - and it was a perfectly accepted practice.

Widows in both ancient and present times in many countries have very little rights, so there is little they can do to stop the

pilfering. This story Jesus tells seems to indicate that it may have been a financial injustice for which she needed some type of settlement.

The real lesson is in the conclusion of this parable of a persistent widow. It teaches "the lesser to the greater".

In other words, if the judge (the "lesser" in the comparison) has no fear of God and can care less about people, but yet will hear the case of the widow because of her persistence, how much more will God (the "greater") who loves justice and loves His people listen to those who call on Him.

Our lesson is to keep praying to this loving God, and do not lose heart.

Sometimes when we pray and God does not answer as quickly as we would like, we want to turn our backs on Him.

However, God does not begrudge answering prayer. If an insensitive judge will respond to continual requests of a widow, how much more will God listen to you and bring about justice.

This is the season we celebrate God the Father giving His one and only Son for us.

Jesus was born to die for our sin and rise again from the dead. If God the Father did all of this for us, wouldn't He eagerly listen to us when we pray?

Absolutely! He is a God that loves you and wants you to surrender your whole heart to Him. Make that your prayer today.

Pastor Gary C. Simons serves as the Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Bible Fellowship, Bermuda.

[[In-content Ad]]

---