And
Justice for All
“There
was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now
there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get
justice for me from my adversary.’” (Luke 18:2-3)
In the 1979 movie And Justice For All, Al Pacino starred as a lawyer
who must defend a corrupt judge he didn’t even like in a rape case.
Many of us have recited the Pledge of Allegiance as schoolchildren and
remember the ending ...and justice for all. The good news is we don’t
have to be rich like OJ Simpson to get justice from a just God. We may
pray to God and receive no answer from Him, and we get frustrated that
our prayers have not been heard.
Knowing
this, Jesus told us a story in Luke 18:1-8 to illustrate the need for
persistent prayer to show us that we must never give up when it appears
that God has not heard our petitions. The meaning of the parable is
that we ought to always pray and not lose heart. There was a widow who
was unjustly treated by an ungodly judge. The judge listened impatiently
to the widow’s plea for justice and told her to come back later,
hoping to wear her down so she won’t come back again.
On the widow’s next appearance, the judge was not kinder and gentler
but brushed her off. The persistent widow decided that her chances of
getting justice were minuscule unless she was determined. Undaunted,
she went to see the judge again and insisted that he take immediate
action. The widow was getting on the judge’s nerves, and seeing
that he could not delay her any longer, he said to himself, ‘Though
I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me
I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’
(Luke 18: 4-5)
The unjust
judge avenged the widow of her adversary, not because he cared about her
but because of her persistence. Unlike the mean judge, our loving God
will avenge us, who cry out day and night to Him, and in fact He will
avenge us speedily (Luke 18:7-8). If an unsympathetic judge helped the
widow simply because of her insisistence, how much more can our father
God, who is so loving and kind, help us when we ask Him with faith and
determination.
Copyright © 2002 Eddy Ministries.
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