UNITY OF FAITH

 

 

She was a Greek woman from Tyre. A Canaanite of pagan birth held in derision by the Jews. She came seeking Jesus, a man of many miracles who had the power to heal. And so she came and begged the Master whose reputation of compassion spread through all of Galilee and the coasts of Tyre. Her relentless pleading pressed upon Jesus to heal her daughter who was ‘vexed with a devil’ (Matthew 15:22). And then this: she called Him ‘the son of David’. She, with not a drop of Jewish blood in her veins, a pure Gentile, knew what that meant….He was the Messiah of Israel. She, however, was ‘the dog that ate the crumbs off the children’s tables’ (Matthew 15:22-28). And this she humbly accepted because she was not of the ‘chosen race’. And so because of Her humility and her undaunted faith, the great Lord of Israel granted her heart’s desire and her daughter was healed ‘from that very hour’ (Matthew 15:28).

 

I was born and raised in Croatia. When I was a youth I moved with my family to Australia where I joined the Church some 40 years ago. For most of these years I felt disadvantaged because I had not been born as a child of the covenant, in Utah, to goodly parents. I felt I was not, so to speak, of a ‘chosen race’. I wondered why I did not qualify for that privilege. In time, however, that became less important and belonging to the household of faith came to mean so much more. As I have yielded my heart to God these 40 years, I have been given a  remembrance of my eternal identity. I carry with me every day a strong sense of who I really am and have always been. I have no words to explain it. With this awareness has come a strong understanding of myself as a woman of faith. Now it matters less where I was place in this life and more that I am like the woman from Tyre who became, through her faith, a part of the ‘chosen race’. 

 

The Saviour unites us from the four corners of the earth through our faith in Him and His saving power. Because of Him all races, nationalities and cultures are one through salvation in His name. He is the validator of all souls, the lifter of all hearts, the succor of the weak, the rewarder of the strong, the unifier of us all. 

 

Thy love burns within us ever so bright

We bear Thy holy name

And in Thee unite

through Gospel’s everlasting light.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Hope of the World by Greg Collins)