God of Mercy

"Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment."

Matthew 15:21-28, NIV

This scripture speaks of a Canaanite woman whose daughter was being tormented by a demon. This woman, being a Gentile, was not yet entitled to the blessings God had promised to His people. Jesus had been sent to the house of Israel, not to the Gentile people. It wasn't until after Christ's death and resurrection that the Gentile people became part of the church. Thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, through his blood, both Jews and Gentiles can now be called children of God. However, this woman came to Jesus for help when she was not yet a child of God. Therefore, Jesus replied that it was not right to give the children's bread to the dogs. However, this woman's faith was strong, and she would not take no for an answer. She replied that even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table. Upon hearing this, Jesus had compassion on her and responded to her request because she had faith.

This story reminds us that salvation comes through faith. The Lord offers salvation to all equally, but only those who believe in Him receive it. This woman's faith gave her access to divine grace. She was not yet part of the body of Christ, but her persistence demonstrated a level of faith that Israel, God's chosen people, had not yet displayed. Sometimes we are like this woman. Perhaps we are not fervent believers or attend church. Perhaps we have never prayed to God. Perhaps we are not Christians or part of the body of Christ yet, but we are still in need. We need a miracle, someone to save us, someone to help us get back on our feet after a violent storm. Like this woman, one day we hear about this Jesus who has the power to perform miracles, and we run desperately to Him because we have tried everything and nothing has worked. We come to Him perhaps with fear, because we know we are not worthy, but that doesn't stop us. Our need is so great that it drives us to believe and have the courage to approach the only One who can help us. We find obstacles on the way, we find opposition, but we do not lose our faith. We believe and at the end our effort is worth it. 

I don't know what is your battle. I don't know what is that you need. Then only thing I know is that no one is too unworthy or too sinful to not be accepted by the Lord. Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV).” He also said in Luke 5:31-31,  “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  The Lord receives anyone who comes to Him with a repentant heart. Anyone who comes to Him with a sincerely repentant heart, He does not despise. Psalms 51:17 says, "My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise." Jesus did not come to condemn you but to save you. John 3:17-18, says "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."

Our God is merciful and He wants everyone to be saved. One day the Lord is going to come back and this time He is coming back  to judge everyone; those who believed and were righteous, are going to have eternal life, those who did not believe and were not righteous, are going to have eternal death. But He is a God of mercy, that is why He is giving us the chance to come to Him now. He understands us; He understands our pain, our sadness, our anger and our frustration. He wants to help us overcome our trials and win our battles, but we must trust Him and believe in Him first. We must be like that Canaanite woman, who humbled herself before Him and fought for her miracle. God loves us, his love is bigger than we can imagine. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." His love for us is so big that sent his son to die for us. No parent would do that; give their only son as a sacrifice to die for someone that deserves death. But He did, He sent his son to die for us even when we were worthy of eternal condemnation and death. On this day, I extend you an invitation to meet the one that loves your soul more than anyone else on this Earth and not wants you to live forever without him. Even if others reject you, I promise He will not. Come to him and find out what He has for you. 

~Gloriangeliz Solano