Luke chapter 18

Could you use a little justice?

As I read through Luke 18 this morning, one verse jumped out at me, and it happened to be the very first one.

“Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and noe to lose heart.”

Have you ever prayed and lost heart? Have you ever prayed and felt like God was wasn’t answering or that He didn’t even hear your request in the first place? If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably had this feeling more times than you would like to remember. So this passage really struck a chord with me. You see, I thought I knew this passage pretty well. But in doing my devotional this morning I tried to look at it with a fresh set of eyes. In the last I had always seen the first parable as a lesson in persistent prayer. After all, it’s a story about a widow who kept “continually coming” to the unjust judge and ultimately wore him down. But is persistence the real point here? If so, then we run the risk of turning this parable into a license for asking for and getting whatever we want from God. Just ask loud enough, long enough, and persistently enough, and God will eventually have to give in to your request.

But the real point seems to be about the content of the woman’s request, not her methodology. Yes, she ultimately got what she was asking for, but what was it that she was requesting? According to Jesus, it was justice. She had asked this judge for legal protection from her opponent. In verses 7-8, Jesus says, “…will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and wil He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly.” This woman was in need of justice. So she turned to the only source she knew coudl deliver it, and she asked for it consitently and persistently until she received it. Why? Because she was helpless and hopeless to do anything about it herself. This earthly judge was her only hope — for justice.

So what’s the point? I need to pray for justice to be done. I need to believe that justice will be done. But when will it happen? According to Jesus, it will come “when the Son of Man comes.” Ultimate justice on this earth will only come when the Lord returns and makes everything wrong right. But when He returns will He find His people praying faithfully and expectantly for justice to be done or will He find that we have long since given up and given in? The real message in this passage for me is about praying for the return of the Savior. It is about allowing the injustices I see in this world to remind me that the only solution is His return. When I see someone suffering from a potentially life-threatening disease, I am not only to pray for their healing, but to pray that justice be done. That this wrong be made right. When I encounter yet another marriage disentegrating before my eyes, I am not only to pray for restoration, but to allow it to remind me that the ultimage, long-term sotution is His return.  Seeing and experiencing injustice in this world should cause us to pray for His return. I should long for His return more than anything else. To pray for anything less is to expect too little and to settle for far less than true justice.

Do you long for His return? Are you eager to see justice done? I am. And what a joy it is to know that that day is coming. His second coming will bring justice on the earth once and for all.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Hiimself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” –– Revelation 21:1-5a

Father, may I continue to grow in my understanding of and desire for justice, which is available only through Your Son and will ultimately come when He returns. Help me long for and pray persistently for  that day more than anything else. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

One thought on “Luke chapter 18

  1. Luke 18 has been very special to me over the last few years…God through His Holy Spirit has given it to me….He told me to keep praying and praying in a personal situation….than He told me that He would bring Justice in the situation and “quickly”. God’s “quickly” is often different from our “quickly”. Just never quite understood the next verses which said ..will He find faith upon His Return. Thanks for adding your thoughts there. Regarding justice….it also tells me along with other scripture that if the “injustice has occured within the Church Leadership or community, than it needs to be resolved quickly…through open truth and repentance. Can you imagine the challenges of dealing with “injustice” among brothers before “The Son of Man” upon His Return. That thought really motivates me.. to resolve things quickly among brothers….

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