14 Jan From Dog to Child
Read: Mark 7:24-37
Last Sunday Pastor Ken on how “The Lord Exposes the Evils of Legalism” from Mark 7:1-23. This Sunday he will preach from Mark 1:24-37, as we consider the Syrophoenician woman’s faith and the healing of a deaf man. As you prepare your heart for our corporate gathering, let these words from Dr. Akin encourage you and move you to further consider the state of your heart before God.
Heart Preparation
It would have been easy for this [Syrophoenician] woman to walk away in bitter disappointment. Yet she fires back with a burst of boldness! Tim Keller says, “There are cowards,
there are regular people, there are heroes, and then there are parents. Parents are not really on the spectrum from cowardice to courage because if your child is in jeopardy, you simply do what it takes to save her” (King’s Cross, 86).
With wit, courage, and faith, the woman responds. She does not take offense. She does not question the accuracy of Jesus’ words. She simply and humbly carries His analogy one step further. “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” What insight! What humility! What faith! Jesus commends her for what He calls “mega faith” (Matt 15: 28) and dismisses her with the promise that her daughter is healed.
What a magnificent picture of salvation we have in this story! Yes Lord, we are all dogs under the table with no rights whatsoever as members of the family. I acknowledge I don’t deserve a place at the table, but I believe there is enough even for me on the table! Just a few crumbs will be enough. That I believe. Then in amazing grace and mercy our Savior lifts us up, no longer a dog (sinner) but a child (saved), no longer under the table but now a member of the family at the table.
Are you willing to see yourself as the dog you are that you might be transformed into the child you might become? Perhaps your sin is greater than you realize, but His grace is greater than you could ever imagine.
Excerpt from Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Mark, by Daniel L. Akin, pp. 159-160.
Song List for Sunday
- Shout Hosanna, by Kristian Stanfill
- 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord), by Matt Redman
- Your Great Name, Shane and Shane arrangement
- All the Poor and Powerless, Shane and Shane arrangement
- Come Ye Sinners, Daniel Renstrom arrangement