Great Faith

I’ve been meditating on a passage in Matthew 15 for a few weeks. It’s about the Canaanite woman who asks Jesus to help her daughter. Jesus ignores her at first. Then says He only came for the ‘lost sheep of Israel’. Then He talks about it not being right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.

It’s always been a disturbing and confusing passage for me. And that has not changed.

 But what I’ve been focusing on recently is the fact that Jesus tells the woman in verse 28 that she has GREAT FAITH!

I can’t explain (because I still don’t understand completely) the dialogue that took place before that verse. But I’ve been meditating on what it was about the woman that caused Jesus to say she had great faith. And I’ve come up with three things.

 1. She knew who God was. She went to Him as her only hope. She may have tried other avenues, but once she went to Jesus, she didn’t go anywhere else. And she was tenacious! She didn’t give up . . . no matter what He said that would possibly have dissuaded others, she didn’t leave! And I think it was because she knew who He was — that HE was her only hope!

2. She knew who she was. She knew that the blood coursing through her veins did not automatically position her to expect Jesus to ‘reward’ her with her request. She knew that there was nothing about her worthy of His acting on her behalf. So when He made the analogy of tossing the children’s bread to the dogs, this woman was not offended. She knew that based on who she was and what she had or hadn’t done, she didn’t deserve to be in the house . . . much less to have a place at the table!

3. She knew God to be merciful!

 She knew God. She knew herself. And she knew that the only thing that was able to connect the two was God’s mercy.

This woman didn’t try to elevate herself. And she didn’t attempt to demote God.

She saw the vast, humanly untraversable expanse between the two of them and she knew there was nothing she could do to make the trek up to God. And she also knew He was not obligated to reach down to her.

But she knew Him to be merciful. And that’s what she was asking for.

And Jesus says that’s GREAT FAITH!

‘Firsts’ in Colorado

Most days I enjoy living in Colorado. (Some days I still miss my family and the South a lot!) The scenery out here is unbelievable! When I drive across Dam Road every morning on my way to work, I am actually driving on top of an earthen dam that creates Cherry Creek Reservoir. The lake is to my left, with the sun rising behind it. In front of me are the snow covered Rocky Mountains. It is an awe-inspiring way to begin my day.

 Last Winter I experienced (read that: survived!) my first blizzard. Don’t really have to see any more snow for the rest of my life. ‘Nuff said.

 Last Spring and Summer, I enjoyed more sunshine than I knew one place could have. I also hiked (read that: crawled or was dragged by my husband who was trying not to laugh, gasping for air that wasn’t there!) up to an elevation of almost 11,000 feet in the gorgeous Rocky Mountain National Park. Along the path I saw breath-taking scenery from waterfalls to lakes to rock formations. Unbelievable!!! I could do that every summer weekend . . . except for the not being able to breathe part!

Last Fall, I saw for my first time golden aspens against a deep blue sky.  What a contrast! What a sight!

We had a beautiful WHITE Christmas this year. And I went snow sledding for my first time that day. (I have to designate “snow sledding”  . . because in the South we do other kinds of sledding. I remember my parents and my sister and me going “sledding” one Fall afternoon . . . downhill in a cardboard box on pine straw and leaves!)

 But I’ve had a couple of ‘firsts’ here in Colorado that I could definitely have lived without!

Last Summer, the day before my birthday(!), I received my first traffic ticket. I got nailed in a speed trap on my way to a cookout at some friends’ home. It was my first ticket because God has been very gracious . . . not because I haven’t deserved LOTS of them throughout my life! But it still left a bitter taste in my mouth for the Castle Rock police department.

 And last week (on Valentine’s Day!!!) I had my first car accident. Never mind that the road was a solid sheet of ice. And never mind that the snow plough had removed all the snow that would have given me some traction. And never mind that the salt/sand truck was too busy sanding/salting the other side of the road . . . the side leading OUT OF TOWN instead of the side everyone on their way to work was using that morning!!

Still . . . I thought I had learned how to drive out here in the Winter. Apparently not on an ice rink, though. Oh, well. Thankfully, the lady I ran into was not hurt. Her vehicle did not have a scratch on it. HOWEVER, her vehicle did have one of those square metal towing rods that juts up the middle of the back of her Jeep. And that is how I now have $1000 worth of damage to my paid-for, 8 year old, dear to my heart Honda Accord.

 The worst damage was to my ego, though. But I think that’s healing a lot faster than my car’s going to be repaired.

Talk or Power? Religious or Real?

My pastor read an interesting verse in our service last night. I Corinthians 4:20. It says “. . . the kingdom of God is not a matter of TALK but of POWER.” The verse fit perfectly with his sermon . . . which was the third in a series entitled “The Kingdom”. The sermon was based on Matthew 11 and was (obviously) about God’s power.

But the verse also fit perfectly with what God has been talking to me about recently. I’ve been in the book of Matthew for the past 18 months. (That’s not so bad. I spent 5 1/2 YEARS in Psalms before that. What can I say? I’m analytical!) And every time I turn around (so to speak), Jesus is verbally going at it with the religious leaders. (And it seems to me that Jesus is usually the instigator!)

What I keep seeing in this book is that these ‘religious’ people REALLY get under Jesus’ skin. He calls them out for what they are (according to Him: hypocrites, snakes, white-washed tombs, etc.) and He doesn’t cut them any slack.

Today I was reading in Matthew 15 where Jesus is explaining that breaking a rule (eating with unwashed hands, according to the religious leaders of His day) is not what makes you unclean (unholy, not right with God). He says that we’re unclean based on our heart . . . the hidden us . . . the us no one can see except God. And He says that what is in our hidden heart (thoughts, attitudes, prejudices, etc.) will become evident on the outside. Our outward actions will eventually reveal our inward heart. (That’s my simplistic interpretation, anyway.)

So I started thinking about application for me today. The ‘religious’ rules are different now. In my world, we’re not so much concerned with the ritual of washing our hands before we eat (not for religion’s sake anyway . . . maybe for our health!). But what if I see someone bowing their head in public before they begin their meal? Do I automatically judge them as righteous? Close to God? Good Christian people? Okay, so what if someone doesn’t bow their head and pray? Do I assume they’re unrighteous? Estranged from God? Ungrateful?

And what about me? When I bow my head before a meal is it: (1) so that those around me will think of me as ‘religious’, right with God, a good Christian; (2) so that God will see me and remember how ‘good’ I’ve been and how grateful I am and add another gold star beside my name; (3) because it’s the ‘right’ thing to do as a Christian to set a good Christian example? Or is it (4) an automatic response at this particular instant in time of a grateful heart that’s been carrying on a silent conversation with its Creator all day long?

There have been multiple times when I’ve done each one of these. And there are those times when I don’t do any of them . . . I just start eating!!! But I think what God has been trying to tell me (again!) through my recent study of Matthew, is that anything other than number four puts me in the ‘religious’ category in His book . . . . . . and based on Jesus’ run-ins in Matthew, that’s not a good place to be.

There’s a fine (and INVISIBLE) line between DOING ‘good’ things (RELIGIOUS!) and BEING ‘good’ (REAL!) from the heart out.

And I think the more REAL I am, the less RELIGIOUS TALKing I’ll do and the more of God’s POWER will be evident in the way I live my life.

All right, already!

If I put this off any longer, my friends and family are going to think I’m not serious about this blogging thing . . . and I really am. So even though I don’t have anything clever or insightful or wise or inspiring to say today, I am officially starting my blog.

There are no promises inherent in this debut of any regularity at all of future writings. But for those of you patient enough to continue checking in every once in a while, one day something worth reading might show up here. Who knows!

So until next time, which will hopefully be sooner than later, thanks for stopping by. 

More later, I promise.