"Yes, Lord" or "But, Lord"?
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Going straight to the Cross
A dog day may be just what you need. (I thought
I'd sent this earlier, but it doesn't show up on
my screen. So here goes.)
"Yes, Lord" or "But, Lord"?
by Tim Hall
Was Jesus having a bad day or what? A woman had
been following Jesus and His disciples, imploring
Him to help her daughter who was possessed with a
demon. It was as if Jesus didn't hear, but that
didn't stop the woman's pleading. The disciples
finally suggested that He send the woman away. It
was then that Jesus stopped to hear her request.
After the woman had presented her need, Jesus'
reply was curt: "Let the children be filled first,
for it is not good to take the children's bread
and throw it to the little dogs" (Mark 7:27, New
King James Version). "Dogs"? With most people,
that would have been the end of the dialogue. Send
the woman away? You've found an effective way to
do that, Lord. Most people would have stormed off
after an insinuation that they were of the class
of dogs.
This woman, a Gentile, was different than most.
(We are confident the Lord knew this long before
the disciples did.) Instead of storming off or
responding with a "But, Lord . . .", this woman
replied with a "Yes, Lord". What significance
there is in those words! She did not attempt to
defend her honor or reputation. She was not
sensitive to the Lord's seeming insult. Instead,
she seems to have agreed that the Lord is right in
all His statements. If He said she was to be
classed among the dogs, then that's where she
ought to be classed. But even so, her daughter
still needed help. She argued that even little
dogs should be allowed to eat the crumbs that fall
from the master's table.
Jesus' next words show the value of this woman's
faith: "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to
you as you desire" (Matthew 15:28, a parallel
account of the same incident). What was so
faithful about this woman's response? The most
obvious facet of her faith was her persistence;
she didn't give up, even though she had been
ignored (seemingly) for so long. But isn't there
another dimension to her faith? The Lord's
estimate of her was more to be preferred than her
own. If He considered her a dog, then so be it; it
must be true. She did not try to save face with
Jesus, but humbled herself to Him. (Matthew
pointed out that she had already worshiped Him, a
vital step in humbling oneself to Deity.)
How we need to learn these lessons! Too often we
are turned away from the Lord by His delay in
answering our prayers. "If God really cared, He
wouldn't make me wait!" we think. But why must God
act on our timetables? If He is God (and He
certainly is), then He is the One who must decide
when it is best to act -- or whether to even act.
It's hard not to feel rebuffed by the Lord when
our prayers go unanswered for so long. Our
inclination is to say "But, Lord!" May we meditate
long and hard on the approved example of this
woman whose response was "Yes, Lord". Maybe then
we will be commended for our faith.