Luke 18 and God's Promise to Avenge Speedily

 

Bearing Up and Avenging Speedily

Luke 18 starts out with a parable. It’s a lesson about God’s faithfulness to those who seek justice. It begins, a godless judge becomes tired of a widow approaching him about her adversary and demanding justice. He reasons to himself that if he doesn’t help her, she will bother him about it all the time. He decides to help her, purely due to self-interest.

The Trial

 “Then the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily, Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?’” (verse 6-8)

There seems to be a discrepancy between God bearing long with us and avenging “speedily”. Those look to be opposites. A legal battle that drags on for years cannot be thought of as a speedy verdict. Even with the ruling in your favor. The agony and cost of a protracted fight is too much for a lot of people. Justice must be speedy and inexpensive or it’s not really justice.

 I’ve been following the Mark Steyn defamation suit that concluded two weeks ago. Sued by the despicable Michael Mann, for writing a blog post that called him a fraud. Much of the scientific community has complained about his sloppy research methods. This being a litigious country though, Mann’s team took the case to Washington DC and won a $1 million. He won because the jury didn’t like right wing journalists like Steyn criticizing the “science” community. Mann wasn’t harmed in any way. The jury agreed with that. The award from the court was punitive and designed to chill free speech going forward. The suit began in 2012 and recently concluded, in 2024.

 It’d difficult to find the most egregious aspect of this case, but the sheer length and cost put Mann v Steyn into the duplicitous category.

The Faithfulness

In God’s legal framework His people are assured of justice. Often it takes a while to manifest in our lives. It can take years, even decades to be realized. So why does Jesus use the word “speedily” when nothing about victory feels quick? I think it has to do with the official record and not the reality of the ongoing situation. In heaven our case is won but on earth, we stand on faith. It’s why He wraps up the parable by mentioning faith. In other words, is there enough faith to believe for victory when the trial is so daunting? But faith is built through trying times. Without a season of waiting on the Lord we would never renew our strength (Isaiah 40:31).

No one needs strength like fighters.

But we don’t wait on the Lord like a judge. He isn’t deciding whether or not to rule in our favor. Just prayers from the Saints cause God to move on our behalf. As Christians we are heirs to the promise and entitled to good gifts like healing, prosperity and peace. He already ruled in our favor when Christ went to the cross and rose on the third day. Faith in our natural trial is where we get tripped up. He is working behind the scenes to correct unjust events. But Jesus reminds us of His presence in our weakness. The struggle to wait is often more than we can handle however. It’s why he reminds us that he “bears long” with us.

The Victory

If this doesn’t create a picture in your mind of a loving father holding his son or daughter while they cry, I don’t know what will. I had asthma as a young boy. I remember struggling to catch my breath after running around on a cold winter day. This wasn’t always the trigger but the symptoms were the same, wheezing and shortness of breath. Even walking from my bedroom to the bathroom was a struggle. My parents were always nearby enduring the long days when I hardly moved. There was nothing to do but wait. We all had some long nights. They believed for my healing before I felt better. I didn’t struggle in later years like I did as a child. Occasionally the humidity would cause me to go into a wheezing episode, but I never doubted God’s faithfulness. I had been through the trial with my parents. I’d seen their comfort and reassurance.

The trials are painful and often long. But God shows up as a comforter and reminds us of His verdict on our behalf.

The challenge for us is to build faith in the struggle, knowing that our Heavenly Father is working when it doesn’t feel like it.