The Faith of an...OUTSIDER

 

Friday, August 21, 2026

When Jesus left there, he withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon.  Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.” Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples approached him and urged him, “Send her away because she’s crying out after us.”  He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  But she came, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, help me!” He answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”  “Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”  Then Jesus replied to her, “Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.” And from that moment her daughter was healed.  Matthew 15:21-28^(CSB)

I know what it’s like to be an outsider, looking in.  As a young man I dated a beautiful girl in my high school class.  Her family was of Italian descent, and it was large.  Her mother was the oldest of 13 children!  THIRTEEN!  My family was miniscule by comparison.  Even I the 1960’s ethnic lines were important.  I later compounded my crossing of those lines by marrying that beautiful girl…in a Methodist church!  I eventually confirmed every doubt and fear held by her family that an outsider had stolen an Italian princess by moving our little “mixed” family a thousand miles away to the strange land of rural Florida, and joining a Baptist Church…light years removed from the religious tradition of my bride’s heritage, which was connected to the Vatican in Rome.

I can identify closely with the Gentile woman who approached the Jewish rabbi, Jesus; it was more than awkward; in Jewish culture it was an affront to every accepted and deeply held rule of propriety.  Likewise, in 1965, New York Italian girls did not bring non-Italian boys home to meet the family!  If they did, there was that risk of being branded with a Scarlet Letter.  (There was also some not so tongue-in-cheek tales told of non-Italian boys disappearing…something about trunks of big black cars and cement shoes).

Needless to say, I always felt like something of an oddity on display at Elizabeth’s family gatherings; kind of Ripley’s Believe-it-or-Not non-Roman freak show.  Elizabeth’s cousins were like Jesus’ disciples encouraging Him to send the Gentile woman away; she just didn’t belong!

What is an Outsider to do?

Well, like the woman Matthew (the tax-collecting Jew/outsider extreme) wrote about this Gentile woman…keep the faith and press-on!

For You Today

So, are you living the “outsider life”?  Maybe this postscript of my experience with outsider-ship will help.  My move wasn’t just a thousand miles away, it brought me to a calling, into the pulpit.  Twenty years later, as Elizabeth’s mother, Sofie, lay dying, it was the outsider she called to her bedside.  She wanted me to read Scripture to her and pray for her…and share comforting words of faith and hope. 

Sometimes, when faith in Christ is held dearer than the next breath, an outsider will find himself at the table with much more than crumbs!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors  and Heart Image by DesignByDessie

[1] Title Image by Daniel R from PixabayUnless noted, Scripture quoted from Christian Standard Bible^©    

Hanging-In

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Friday, August 17, 2018

And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters.  Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught.  Stay away from them.  Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests.  By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.  But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord.  This makes me very happy.  I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong.  The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.  Romans 16:17-20^(NLT)

There is a distinction between persistence and stubbornness.  And though that line appears somewhat thin, particularly at a first, casual glance, the driving forces behind the persistent person are far-removed from the one who is just stubborn. 

Here are three of those differences:

1.     Motive

Paul tells us a stubborn person is interested in his own agenda, not serving Christ.  Stubborn people want what they want, and really don’t care what they have to do to achieve their personal gain.  There is little integrity involved…only achieving a desired outcome. 

I once had a church leader look me in the eye and inform me that the church would not follow me because I was an outsider.  He said:  Preachers come and go; we hire and fire them, because we are the church here…not you. 

We must be careful not to judge motive too closely; we are not equipped to look inside another person and understand his or her darkness.  That is God’s purview alone, along with deciding on what kind of correction is needed.  So understanding the driving force of what motivates a stubborn person from within is given here to help us keep a check on our own reasons for hanging-in, not judging or controlling others.

2.     Method

Paul holds up to the Roman believers the chief ingredient of how stubborn people achieve their success – deception.  Paul got this from Jesus, whose “discussions” with the religious leaders hardly ever went well.  Their motives were selfish and controlling, and their method was deceptive; Jesus finally had enough of it, and this is what He said:

For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does.  He was a murderer from the beginning.  He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.  John 8:44^(NLT)

A persistent person won’t lie; he hangs-in with truth, no matter how tough it might be.

3.     Result

The result of selfishness-driven stubbornness, as opposed to unselfish persistence in the truth, is as far removed as East is from West.  Stubborn people, living in ignorance or deception (and ignorance is a kind of self-deception) always create division.  They might use sweet-sounding words of cooperation and unity, but that kind of manipulation, coupled with a selfish motive always divides.

On the other hand, persistent, truth-holding, truth-living people are faithful; this is the result which comes from people you can count-on to mean what they say, and do what they say.  There is a confidence that comes with persistence in truth which builds trust and strength in those they serve.

So, persistence and stubbornness are not even distant cousins!

For You Today

Does it seem sometimes like you just can’t hang-in for much longer; like giving up is getting to be that corner you’ve been dreading?  That’s ok; it’s one of the marks of people who walk by faith, and don’t try to manipulate just to make things easier.

Hang-in, my brothers and sisters; He may not be on your schedule, but He is always on time!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com