Faith is greater than persistence

In Luke Chapter 18, verses 1-8, Jesus tells us an interesting parable. It seems there is this widow who needs justice. There is a judge who fears neither man nor God and has supposedly withheld justice for this poor woman. The widow goes to his door every day, probably every hour, pleading, begging for justice. Eventually, the judge has had enough, and to quiet the woman, he provides the justice she pleaded for.

Now, obviously, this story has a moral that calls us to be persistent. But I think maybe there is more to it. Because Jesus ends the story with this statement; “And when the son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Not persistence, but faith.

So here is my take on this parable. Now, keep in mind, that my opinion and a quarter will not buy you a cup of coffee, so you can agree or disagree, it’s all right with me.

My take on this is not about persistence but about faith. Do we actually have faith?

The widow had a faith that told her that if she kept pleading and begging, justice would be done. But that faith had to be persistent. She could not be wishy-washy on this thing. She had to be all in, no holds barred, dedicated to this cause. There was no plan B and there was no place else to go.

This, my friends, is the essence of faith. It isn’t how often you go pound on the door. It’s not stopping regardless.

Throughout the Bible, we see instances of people who had no plan B. The woman who was cured of her bleeding, the 10 lepers. We look back to the story of Naaman. We can see David and his lament over his sin, and even Moses in his ministry to the Jews held in captivity.

I really think the point of this story isn’t just about persistence, but about a “leaving it all on the floor” faith. It isn’t about how much faith, but about having only faith. We are not called to be “sort of/kind of” followers of Christ. We are called to be 100% all in, no backing down believers in Christ.

In fact, if you will notice when Paul describes the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18, we see only frontal armor. Notice when you read it, that there is no accommodation for the back of the soldier. This means we continue to progress forward; we stick to the plan of Christ, and we don’t have a plan B.

So, what does this give us when we depend on our faith? It gives us HOPE. And as a wise salesman once told me, “If you have hope in tomorrow, you have power in today.”

Faith gives us the strength to face any advisory, because we know that Christ is with us, hearing us and helping us. It is by faith we can hope, and love and pray. It is faith that changes the world, and because of faith we have the hope to persevere.

See you in church.

Rev. Kent Wilfong is the pastor at the United Methodist Church, Doniphan/Neelyville.