One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. There was a judge in a certain city. Jesus said, who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly saying, Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy. The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, I don’t fear God or care about people. But this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice because she is wearing me out with her constant requests. Then the Lord said, Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly. But when the son of man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?
Luke 18:1-8(NLT)
Let me let me make it very clear to you. You’re the widow in this story. You’re the outcast. You’re called to cry out, to be persistent with God. Day and night for justice. And Jesus says that you are chosen. Outcasts are chosen people of God. You’re chosen. You’re a child of God. You don’t feel like it because everybody’s told you you stink or you’re not worth anything. Or that decision you made in your life wasn’t good. But guess what? As far as God’s concerned, you haven’t lost your chosenness (not sure that is a real word, but I like it). And you were made to be a part of God’s family. You were chosen before you were even born to be part of what God is doing. In fact, not only were you chosen to be a part of it, you were chosen to play a crucial role in it. You are a chosen outcast.
But I know what you’re thinking. Chaplain Milton. I still got my stuff. I still got all the junk around me. I still got my issues & problems. I still have this injustice that’s been happening. You’re that widow asking for justice. God doesn’t seem to be coming through. And that still is the reality, even though you’re chosen. Jesus says:
I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly.
The outcasts will get justice. Now, here’s the difference. You wish that word was immediately instead of quickly. Right? You want justice. And you want it now. Right now, this minute. You want to be Elijah asking for fire and fire coming down and burning all the people who have hurt you. That’s what you want. But it doesn’t say immediately. It says quickly. It says it’s on its way. It’s coming. It’s a certainty. It’s just not now. You can bet on it. But you’re not going to cash in that ticket just yet. So hold on and keep bothering the Judge.
