Grace and Faith

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matthew 15:21-28 ESV). Faith is often found in unlikely places. The Bible tells the story of a pagan woman whom Jesus commended for her great faith. She was not raised as a Jew, knowing the Scriptures. She certainly did not have the privilege of walking and talking with Jesus as the disciples had. This woman had been raised in a godless home, in a home filled with idols. But with what little she knew about Jesus, she applied dramatic faith. We could even describe it as amazing faith. One would have thought that the strongest faith would have come from one of Jesus' disciples like Peter, James, or John. But it came from this pagan woman. The only other time Jesus called out someone's faith as an example was when a Roman centurion—another Gentile—asked Him to heal his servant. I have heard it said that when a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage; when a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize; and, when a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award, yet receives such a gift anyway, that is a good picture of God’s grace. We did not earn it; we did not win it; and we did not achieve it. God gave it to us out of the mercy of his heart. The wonderful truth in this principle is that when God gives it, no one can take it away from us; nor can we lose it ourselves. I like what Richard Baxter has said: As we paid nothing for God’s eternal love and nothing for the Son of His love, and nothing for His Spirit and our grace and faith, and nothing for our eternal rest...What an astonishing thought it will be to think of the unmeasurable difference between our deservings and our receivings. O, how free was all this love, and how free is this enjoyed glory...So then let “Deserved” be written on the floor of hell but on the door of heaven and life, “The Free Gift”. Thank God for his grace!