Do Not Lose Heart

Unlike most of his parables, Jesus delivers the main point of this one up front. The encouragement has two-parts: pray always and do not lose heart. The parable illustrates why continued prayer in the face of difficulty and seeming lack of response on God’s part is not in vain. Jesus presents two contrasting figures - a completely self-satisfied judge and a helpless widow. Though the widow is oppressed and powerless, she is persistent. Eventually, the woman drives the judge crazy enough that he gives her justice out of sheer self-interest. Jesus draws a lesser-to-greater argument; if the unrighteous judge eventually yields, how much more will a totally righteous and loving God give justice to his own who cry to him day and night?

A broader perspective on history and the advancement of the kingdom of God helps us to reinterpret what God is doing in our individual lives, even when faced with injustices and evils that are overwhelming and hard to reconcile. We may not know why we are suffering, nor is suffering inherently good or desirable in itself, but it may be producing something in us that would be unattainable otherwise. The paradox of Christian suffering is that God does not spare us, but he also doesn’t leave us.