Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
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ACCEPTING
CHRIST
This portion is about a
Canaanite woman with a demon –possessed daughter, who longed for her child to
be set free. She knew Jesus was nearby, although she was a gentile, she went to
Him and pleaded for His mercy and help. At first sight His treatment seems to
conflict ,but inspite of His attitude towards her, the woman continued to plead
with him until she received his commendation. She had great faith.
(a) Her faith was
great because of who she was: Mark 7:26 tells us she was a “a
Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia ‘’. She was a gentile, not a Jew. In the case
of Samaritan woman, Christ approached her, but here we see the Syrian woman
came to the Lord. Even though she was outside the privileges, “a foreigner to
the covenant of promise”, yet she believe that if she come and cast herself
upon His mercy, Jesus would heal her child.
(b)Her faith was great
because it came from right source: Faith begins when we hear the word of
the God. What did she hear and who told her these things? She heard about His
power to heal, cast out demons, open blind eyes, make deaf hear .we don’t know
who told her, but she believed what she heard .She accepted the testimony of
Christ. She knew if He could heal others, He can do it for her daughter. Do we
have the same faith of this gentile woman in accepting Christ?
(c) Her faith was great
because it did not waver in the face of testing:
In the beginning we read,
the silence of Christ towards the woman, when she approached Christ. He was
testing her faith. She waited and held on. The attitude of disciples was
arrogant, they wanted to send the woman away, yet she was determined to receive
the blessings.
(d) Her faith was great
because she turned all these obstacles into stepping
stones: Even though she had many obstacles right from
beginning, she turned them down with great faith and believing in Christ, so it
turned to a good account.
(e) Her faith was
great and so she was richly rewarded: The reward she received the
greatest of which was our Lord’s commendation “woman you have great faith”.
When He spoke these, she knew He was going to heal her child.
Accepting Christ with
great faith was rewarded with his promise of healing the child. We have to be
strong in faith, so in any adverse situation, we will be able hold strong.
Prayer: Lord, help me stand in strong faith and follow you.
Thought for the day: Great faith persists.
Tilu
Saji Thomas, Sehion MTC, Dallas