In our series on ‘Questions’, looking now at the questions God asks us, we looked tonight at Luke 18:1-8, a parable Jesus told His disciples to urge them to continue in prayer, but which ends with the challenging question, ‘when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’ (Luke 18:8) Parables have a habit of challenging us: they are earthly stories with a heavenly meaning, and often their very simplicity draws us in to realise that we don’t have all the answers and must dig deeper into our hearts to discover these.
This parable is the story of a judge who doesn’t really care about justice or about God or about people. (Luke 18:2) He’s indifferent to everything and everyone, it seems, but the other character in this story is a widow, a woman who needs justice against an adversary and who, therefore, keeps on coming to the judge because she has a need. (Luke 18:3) She won’t take no for an answer; one commentator calls her a ‘won’t quit widow’. (Bob Deffinbaugh) In those times, a widow was a vulnerable person; there was no real safety net of benefits or pensions for her, and so she relied on her family and on the law to survive. Now, some scoundrel has cheated her of what little she had to live on and so she comes to the judge and asks for justice. We can all relate to this kind of scenario, and probably feel a good deal of sympathy with the woman.
The judge, who cares little for justice, is nonetheless worn out by her persistence, worn down by her constant presence, and in the end, she triumphs because of her persistence. It’s a victory for the little person against the great corrupt and indifferent justice system and reminds us also that God is a just judge who will ultimately see that right is done. God will ‘see that they get justice, and quickly.’ (Luke 18:8) And then comes the sting in the tail, so to speak. The tables are turned, as He asks: ‘However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’ (Luke 18:8) In other words: God is faithful. What about you? What about us? When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Will we be persevering in prayer like the faithful widow, or will we have become discouraged and given up?
This is a challenge for all of us, reminding us that God is looking for faith and that faith is indispensable if we are to please God. (Heb 11:6) Jesus is coming back to earth and will be looking for people who believe Him and are ready. (Luke 13:32-37) Are we ready? Do we have faith?
