What is Trust? I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. Luke 11:8 NASB Persistence – What does it mean to have Trust(faith)? For most of us, it means to believe certain things, to have a statement of Trust, to confess certain doctrines as truth. Sometimes it also means to act in certain ways, to go to church, to say certain prayers. Yeshua told a parable about Trust one time, but His little story paints a very different picture. Brad Young explains the parable of the “Contemptible Friend” in his excellent book, The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation. He notices that the Greek word translated “persistence” is anaideia. “Probably the Hebrew word that best translates the Greek term anaideia is a form of the word chutzpah. . . In current English, perhaps ‘raw nerve’ would be a better definition. ‘Chutzpah’ means ‘brazen tenacity’ or ‘bold perseverance.’ ‘Relentless diligence’ or even ‘impudence’ is very near the meaning. . . The conclusion is almost inescapable. . . Does YESHUA define faith as determined nerve? Young is right. Our view of Trust is anemic, cognitive, antiseptic verbal vomit. Yeshua’s view of Trust is dogged persistence and unrelenting determination. His view of Trust is Jacob at Jabbok, Elijah on Mount Carmel and Paul’s thrice-pled prayer. Trust is never letting go no matter what. It has far less to do with what I believe than it does with what I do. In fact, I might even suggest that biblical Trust is most effective when I am intellectually convinced that what I am about to do is impossible. At the edge of the Sea of Reeds, Trust is lifting up my hands. At Jericho, it is walking in silence. In front of Nebuchadnezzar’s oven, it is declaring my resolve. In a Jewish village, it is willingly bearing the shame of pregnancy. “This is impossible” – and that’s why I do it. A friend comes to the door in the middle of the night. You don’t care about his problem. You turn your back on all social propriety and expectations. But he just won’t quit! Just like that judge, you finally give in because he won’t stop annoying you. How many of us won’t give up annoying the Creator until HE delivers! How many of us won’t let go until HE blesses? Too few warriors, too many wimps. Cowering under theological bed sheets, we are afraid to require The Creator to deliver. Moses wasn’t. “You can’t do this, Your Majesty, or the world will think YOU are nothing but a tyrant.” That takes real cojones. Chutzpah. There is no “Yeshua meek and mild.” Read the stories again. The man of Trusted Standing was as brazen as they get. The Messianic secret? You have to be kidding. Everywhere you look HE is shouting, “Don’t you see what The Creator is doing here?” Do we? Is your theology preventing you from having Trust? Go ahead, translate that to Hebrew!
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 23:57:27 +0000
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