“Though I have no fear of God
and no respect for anyone,
yet because this widow keeps bothering me,
I will grant her justice.”
—Luke 18.4-5
The judge never does change his mind.
He will never be her advocate.
He’s just trying to get off easy.
My sin is like that judge.
I may be forgiven, my guilt washed away,
but my sin isn’t going to change.
My ego is still in office.
My self-centeredness hasn’t given up.
My racism hasn’t ben unseated.
Imagine the widow is a black woman
pleading that her children not be shot.
She’ll have to ask more than once.
God has to hammer away at my racism,
over and over, and wear me down,
daily remind me of my sin.
It doesn’t go away. My inner judge is corrupt.
Only when I know that do I listen
to a voice that knows better than I what to do.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
October 16, 2019