God Abhors Caste

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:12, 13.
“Behold, a Canaanitish woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil” (Matthew 15:22, R. V.). The people of this district were of the old Canaanite race. They were idolaters, and were despised and hated by the Jews. To this class belonged the woman who now came to Jesus. She was a heathen….
Christ did not immediately reply to the woman’s request. He received this representative of a despised race as the Jews would have done…. The woman urged her case with increased earnestness, bowing at Christ’s feet, and crying, “Lord, help me.” …
She yields at once to the divine influence of Christ, and has implicit faith in His ability to grant the favor she asks. She begs for the crumbs that fall from the Master’s table. If she may have the privilege of a dog, she is willing to be regarded as a dog. She has no national or religious prejudice or pride to influence her course, and she immediately acknowledges Jesus as the Redeemer, and as being able to do all that she asks of Him.
The Saviour is satisfied. He has tested her faith in Him…. Turning to her with a look of pity and love, He says, “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” From that hour her daughter became whole. The demon troubled her no more….
In faith the woman of Phoenicia flung herself against the barriers that had been piled up between Jew and Gentile. Against discouragement, regardless of appearances that might have led her to doubt, she trusted the Saviour’s love. It is thus that Christ desires us to trust in Him. The blessings of salvation are for every soul. Nothing but his own choice can prevent any man from becoming a partaker of the promise in Christ by the gospel.
Caste is hateful to God. He ignores everything of this character. In His sight the souls of all men are of equal value.
Conflict and Courage p. 297
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Prayer Requests
—–pray for my friend Jenny. She’s feeling week, dizziness and is fighting a sinus infection. She’s already battling Coronary Heart Disease. Sara
—–Prayers for Raelene. Experiencing afib and awaiting her cardiologist appointment first week in July. Pray that God will set her heart right and give her a good, long life. T
—–Please pray for my daughter, Megan who is in a volatile situation. Tina
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Dear Friends,
Thirty-five years ago, when I found that I was going to have another baby, I wondered what Ronnie Jay’s reaction would be. He loved to be held and cuddled, so I spent a lot of time doing just that. He was my constant companion and he grew to be a happy, loving child who always had a broad smile on his face. Now a new baby was coming who would take up much of my time and also receive much of the love and cuddling. How would he react?
When I brought Esther Marie home from the hospital, I foolishly told him that she was his birthday present. Ronnie Jay was delighted. My little boy loved his baby sister with all of his three-year-old heart. He often begged to hold her and cuddle her, so I would have him sit on the sofa beside me and lay her in his lap. His face just beamed with joy. He spent hours talking to her. When I would lay her on the bed, he would lay beside her. Wherever I put her, he played happily beside her. As she grew older and needed to be punished, he would beg to take her punishment. He could not bear the thought of his little sister suffering any unhappiness or pain. When I made her pick up her toys, he would help her. Those two children were exceptionally close and played together happily throughout all of their growing up years.
The love of God, how great it is. It is much more than the love Ronnie Jay had for his little sister. Indeed, it is beyond our comprehension. It is much more satisfying than any earthly relationship. Our Redeemer is an ever present Friend in our loneliness. He is the “friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Prov 18:24 He has promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Heb 13:5 His Great Heart of Love swells with compassion toward us. How He longs for our love in return.
When Adam and Eve sinned, all the universe was filled with sorrow. Something had to be done. The Father and the Son conferred together and decided to implement the plan that “God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” Titus 1:2 How difficult it must have been for the Father to allow Jesus to suffer all the hatred that the devil could heap upon Him. Yet, because of His great love for us, “he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18
Jesus gave His all for us because of His Great Love for us. Isaiah explains His sacrifice so well. He left the glories of Heaven and was “despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him, he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isa 53:3-12
Jesus assures us, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.” John 15:7-17 “I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Luke 11:9-13 What wondrous love! God not only sent His Son to save us, but He supplies all our needs. He gives us better gifts than an earthly Father gives to his favored son.
Let us love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let us count it all joy to serve Him, doing all of His bidding because we love Him, Who first loved us. <1 John 4:19> Let us share His love with those around us that they, too, may realize our Dear Saviour’s love and marvelous grace.
Rose