Living With Delay

When Christ returns, will He find faith on the earth? by Calvin Burrell

How do we respond when Christ seems to have delayed His return, when our blessed hope is postponed and injustice prevails in the land?
The facts are these:

Scores of Bible texts foretell a last great day in which the Lord will intervene in history to judge the wicked and reward the righteous (for an Old Testament example, see Daniel 7:13, 14). Some New Testament texts (1 Corinthians 7:29, for example) imply that the writers expected His return in their lifetime. The most compelling promises are from Jesus Christ himself: “I will come again . . . quickly . . . to give to every one according to his work” (John 14:3; Revelation 22:12).
Fifty generations later, Christ has not returned and the promises are not fulfilled. In the face of this, many have given up hope in a heavenly kingdom to come, yielding rather to doubt and earthly temptation as Jesus predicted (Matthew 24:48, 49). This backsliding has increased the violence, corruption, and spiritual darkness that envelope our earth.
In a passage focused on His return (Luke 17:20—18:8), Jesus anticipates that many will falter under the delay, so He asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (18:8b). The question is poignant and penetrating, with a potential for powerful impact on those who hear and reflect on it. Each of us should answer individually: When Christ returns, will He find faith in me?

Parable

The answer may be uncovered in the story Jesus tells in Luke 18:1-8a, just before He asks our key question (v. 8b). It’s the story of a judge, he of considerable power and position. A judge can change things and bring justice at the drop of a gavel.

It’s also the story of a widow, she of little or no power. Most widows in Jesus’ day were poor and weak, working twice as hard for bare existence. Living with chronic injustice, the widow petitions this judge to take vengeance upon her adversary.

This adversary, the third person in the story, is the widow’s enemy — her antagonist. She hears his insult at every turn; she feels his oppression. He adds to her daily burdens and won’t let up!

Now the judge can do justice for the widow anytime he wants. But he doesn’t want. Instead, he delays. He delays because he is basically a selfish guy, having great care for his own personal convenience and very little for any poor widow. “No,” he tells her over and again, until he can take no more of her troublesome pleas.

Finally, in exasperation, the judge agrees to rid the widow of the adversary, not because he is just but because then he’ll be rid of her too.

Parallels

Who is this judge, this widow, this adversary in the bigger story of life?

The widow reminds us of the church. Its members are like this poor, weak woman in many ways. Most of Jesus’ followers are not among the world’s powerful, rich, and famous (1 Corinthians 1:26). Culture’s movers and shakers do not often value godly faith and moral conduct as highly as do Christians. More often, they enjoy poking fingers in the eye of God and His people.

Like the widow, the church of God has constant cause to cry out for justice. Believers see oppression as did a number of psalmists. In fact, the early verses in Psalm 94 sound like the widow in Jesus’ parable:

Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render punishment to the proud . . . Lord . . . how long will the wicked triumph? They . . . speak insolent things; all the workers of iniquity boast in themselves. They break in pieces Your people, O Lord, and afflict Your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger . . . (vv. 2-6a).

In verses 16 and 23, the writer asks who will stand up for him against the evil workers who gather against the righteous and condemn the innocent.

What this psalm asks is no different than what Jesus taught His disciples to pray: “Deliver us from the evil one” (Luke 11:4b). Rescue from evil and relief from worldlings who “lord it” over the righteous are as needful in this perverse generation as they ever were. Consider a list of injustices that oppress people of faith and obedience today, using Psalm 94:3’s “How long?” as our preamble:
How long shall . . .

evil be exalted as good and good be regarded as evil?
dishonest people prosper at the expense of the just?
criminals terrorize our streets and neighborhoods?
drug dealers and alcohol manufacturers entice our youth to destruction?
rap artists fill our ears with vile language and moral garbage?
rich men use deception and dishonesty to heap up their treasures?
arrogant athletes and movie stars, flaunting sin, be heroes for our children?
greedy preachers fill their purses through false teaching and promised wealth?
politicians make public policy when they can’t keep their own private lives intact?
popular media present sex as a right of all, with no regard to moral responsibilities or natural consequences taught by hard experience?
we be a nation that approves killing our children before they are even born?

Taking cues from the psalmist and the widow of Luke 18, we may well echo their cries and sign their petitions: “Lord, mete out punishment to the wicked. Render justice to the proud and greedy. Avenge us of our adversary.”

And who is our major adversary, this third person of Jesus’ parable? Is he the drug dealer, the criminal, the rap artist, the rich and dishonest person, the arrogant athlete, the godless movie star, the false religionist, or the proud politician? Though all these appear on our “How long?” list, we should not regard them as our absolute enemies.

The absolute adversary of God’s people is identified in another place: “Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Without ceasing, we do well to pray “Lord, deliver us from this Evil One — the Devil.”

What about the judge of Jesus’ story? Whom does he represent in the drama of life? The easy answer is to say that he is God or Christ, judge of all the earth.
It is true that God is like this judge in some ways. God has power and position like the judge. Like him, God can do justice and punish the enemies of right anytime He wishes. And like the judge, God delays doing so.

The reasons for heaven’s delay, however, are opposite the judge’s reasons. Because this unmerciful and unjust judge neither feared God nor respected man, the righteous Judge of Scripture is more to be contrasted with him than compared. If a cruel judge will finally hear a widow’s troubled cry to protect his schedule, will not a merciful God care much more for those who consistently cry out to Him?

Though He long delays (v. 7b), God is not uncaring, not unjust, not slack in His promises. If we understood His reasons for delay and His plans for vengeance, we would do exactly as He does and call it perfect justice.

Finding faith

Though this parable doesn’t directly address the issue of Christ’s return, Jesus’ question at the parable’s close returns us to that theme: “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (v. 8b). The answer to this question is suggested in the parable itself:

Divine delay is a reality: “though He bears long with them” (v. 7b).
Human persistence is a necessity: “Men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (v. 1).
Delay will not forever last: “He will avenge them speedily” (v. 8a).

Those who respond to Jesus’ righteous delay with continued hope and persistence — they will be found faithful when He returns.

Yes, the Son of Man will find faith on Earth. He will find it in those who, like the widow, pray for justice, trust for mercy, leave vengeance to God, and don’t lose heart unto the end. They will be delivered speedily when Jesus comes quickly.

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