by Peter M. Lopez
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. Matthew 15:25-28 (NIV)
I was cooking supper one evening when our Jack Russell terrier, Maggie, decided she wanted to play ball. She loved to play catch, and she was quite the little hind catcher.
I was at the stove tending to our meal when Maggie brought me her ball. She dropped it at my feet and backed up so I could throw it to her.
“Not now, Mags,” I said. A few seconds passed and she returned, nudged the ball to me with her nose, and backed up ready to catch again.
“Later, Maggie!” A few more seconds passed, and she nudged the ball to me again. And again.
I finally gave in. Frying pan in one hand, spatula in the other, I turned and kicked the ball. The ball zoomed passed Maggie through the doorway into the living room. She retrieved the ball and wanted to play again. So, I kicked it again. This time, however, she stopped the ball before it got to the doorway. Soccer a la Maggie was born. She had invented her own version of the game. She was the best doorway goalie around.
Like the woman in the scripture, Maggie would not take “no” for an answer. In fact, it never occurred to her that “no” was an option. How often do we ask Jesus for something, and assume “no” is the answer if we don’t see immediate results?
Is there anything you have asked from Jesus where you have allowed “no” to be an option?
