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2 - A Mother's Love
Matthew 15:
21. Jesus then left that part of the country and walked the fifty miles
to Tyre and Sidon.
22. A woman from Canaan who was living there came to him, pleading, "Have
mercy on me, O Lord, King David's Son! For my daughter has a demon within
her, and it torments her constantly."
23. But Jesus gave her no reply - not even a word. Then his disciples urged
him to send her away. "Tell her to get going," they said, "for she is
bothering us with all her begging."
LB
The first risk this mother took in approaching Jesus to heal her daughter,
was that He would give her the typical Jewish racial snub of regarding her
as a "Gentile dog".
The next risk she took was that he would snub her because she was a woman!
We know from the incident with the woman at the well in Samaria - see John
chapter 4 - that in public Jewish men did not speak to women they didn't know.
Here we see Jesus' disciples exhibiting the racial and gender prejudices
Jewish men of this time were trained to have.
Their attitude was not exactly unkind, but they regarded her pleadings as
a bother, and also perhaps, an embarrassment.
Why was this woman willing to put up with all this? She certainly must have
fully understood beforehand, how much it would embarrass HER to run behind
a stranger in public, begging for His help, unsure of what His response
would be!
The only explanation is LOVE. This mother loved her daughter so much that
she was willing to put up with possible humiliation and rejection, to get
her daughter healed.
God understands this kind of sacrificial love, because He Himself is a parent
who was willing to take the ultimate risk of sending His son to die a criminal's
death, so that we could be included in His family.
This is the love of true parents!
Prayer:
Father, thank You for making us humans to reflect Your quality of love as
parents. Thank You for making us in Your image in this regard.
And Father, today I open my heart to You and ask that You search my motives
and intentions and show me whether I react to other people based on any
prejudice in my heart, whether racial or otherwise.
Help me to love people the way You do,
in Jesus' name,
Amen.
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