.JPG)
The Widow and the Judge
Jesus said there was a powerful man. He
was the most powerful person in his city. He was The Judge.
He sat at the city gate all day in his
elegant judge’s robes. People came to him from all around the city. To solve
their legal problems.
One day, as he sat there, he looked at
the line of people waiting to talk to him. And he thought to himself, “My
goodness it is nice to have such an important job. All these people. With so
many problems. And they all looked up to me for help. I must be incredibly
special!”
“Excuse me, sir,” came a voice from down
by his feet. It was a little old lady. Her hair was all grey. Her back was
bent, and she leaned on a cane.
“Excuse me, your honor, but my neighbor
is causing me trouble. He’s supposed to be renting my field and sharing the
harvest. But now he says it’s his field, and he won’t give me anything!”
The judge looked at the long line of
people waiting and said, “Okay, I’ll investigate the problem. Come back next
week. But No promises.”
The guards came up and made the woman
move out of the way.
Later that Morning…
Just before lunch time, the judge heard a
familiar voice. “Excuse me, sir!”
He looked down. It was the little old
lady again.
“Your honor, I really need your help. I’m
a widow, and I have no relatives. My neighbor is stealing my property. He’s not
giving me the harvest. Look, I have the contract right here!” and she waved a
piece of paper for the judge to see.
“Very well, give me that,” he said. “I’ll
take a look. Please come back in a week. But No promises.”
After Lunch…
But after the judge’s lunch break, he
heard a tapping — a banging, really. It was that same old widow, and she was
smacking his chair with her cane.
“Excuse me, sir!” she said.
“Didn’t I tell you to come back in a
week? This is the second time you’ve been here today.”
“No, your honor,” she said.
“What?!?” raged the judge. “You dare
contradict me? Don’t you know I’m the most powerful person in this city?”
“Yes, I know, your honor,” she said. “But
I’ve been here, before you, THREE times today. It’s because you are so powerful
that I keep coming. I really need your help, or I’m going to starve.”
“Well,” said the judge, “I see. As I said
before, come back next week. I’ll investigate it. But No promises.”
The guards took the woman away again but,
as soon as they weren’t looking, she got back in line.
Later that Afternoon…
Before the end of the day, there she was,
standing before the judge.
“There she is again!” thought the judge.
“This old widow is going to drive me crazy. I must do something to get her to
leave me in peace!”
“Excuse me, sir!” came the voice of the
little old lady.
“Ah,” said the judge. “You again. Well
I’ve come to a decision: your contract is valid and will be enforced. The
guards here will take you home and make sure your neighbor gives you the
harvest. And they’ll put up clear property markers so that he can’t claim your
land.”
And the widow walked away happy.
A Story about Prayer
“What do you think of my story?”
You should always pray, and I hope you
never get discouraged.
The LORD is kind and generous. “God
actually loves you.”
Even a mean, stingy, rotten, selfish
judge will give in when someone keeps bugging him.
You are praying to the God who loves you.
Just imagine how much more willing to help God is than that judge was!”
God always wants to hear from you. You
can always talk to God about what you need, no matter how long you’ve been
needing it. And sometimes God responds in very surprising ways.”[1]
Jesus said in the story that the woman
said to the judge, "There is a man who is not being fair to me. Give me my
rights!"
At first, the judge refused to do
anything, but the woman kept asking him. Finally, the judge said, "This
woman is bothering me. I will see that she gets her rights, or she will bother
me until I am worn out!’”
After Jesus finished the story, he said,
"Learn a lesson from the judge. God’s people cry to him night and day.
God will always give them what is right, and he will not be slow to answer
them. I tell you; God will help his people quickly!”
Have you ever found yourself in a
situation that was so hard that you just wanted to give up?
Maybe you were having trouble.
Perhaps you and a friend had a disagreement,
and you just couldn't seem to work it out.
Or maybe someone kept being unkind to
you.
What Jesus wants us to learn from this
story is that God, our Heavenly Father, loves us and wants to do wonderful
things for us.
He wants what is best for us. And he has
the wisdom to know what is best.
Don't forget. God likes to hear us ask. Not
just once.
But again and again. Never ever give up.
He doesn't want us to ask once and then
give up!
Remember to ask God to help you when you
have a problem that makes you want to give up.
Prayer: Thank you, LORD for your love and care.
Thank you for Your words and promises. Help us come quickly to you in prayer. Thank you for your promise to hear and to answer.
Passive sentences -3.2%
Readability -90.6%
Reading Level -2.7
No comments:
Post a Comment