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The faith and love mother made her daughter become well

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Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
[NIV] Matthew 15:28

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It’s Parent’s Day today. Did you pin the red carnations onto your parents’ shirts? Today is the day where we remember and give thanks for all that our parents have done for us.

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May we feel how deep our parent’s love is through a story of a mother who met Jesus in the Bible.

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This happened when Jesus was traveling through Tyre and Sidon. There were always lots of people around Jesus.

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A woman started shouting at Jesus and pleading with Jesus. “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from being demon-possessed.”

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She was from the area of Canaan. The Canaanites were aliens, not Israeli people. She made a passionate plea for her sick daughter to get well.

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But what happened? At first, Jesus didn’t respond as we would think that He would. He was not kind or gentle. He didn’t even pay attention to her. He just kept walking. She continued following Him and crying out to Him. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy upon me. Cure my daughter.

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Jesus just ignored her and kept going. His disciples came to Him and said, “Lord, sent her back to home. She keeps following us and shouting.”

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Jesus said to His disciples, “I came to earth for the Israelites, not for the Canaanites. I do not want to look after her.

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But before He could finish saying this, the woman knelt down before him in a full bow position and kept pleading. “Oh, Jesus, please help me.”

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Finally, Jesus answered her earnest request. “How do you think of that it is not right to take the bread out of children’s mouths and throw it to a dog?” Jesus told her that he could not do her an act of charity, comparing the Israelites to being children of God and the Canaanites to being dogs.

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This is the defiant word. What are you going to do when somebody thinks of that you as a piece of wood or sleazy? If you were humiliated in public, many of you would flee that place quickly.

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This Canaanite woman said to Jesus with deep humility, “That’s true, Lord, I am a Canaanite, hewers of wood. But dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their master’s table. Please give me your love like scraps.

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After Jesus saw her persistent faith, he complimented her on her faith. “Your faith is something else. Your daughter is healed at this very moment”

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As soon as Jesus finished his saying, she came went back to her home. Her daughter had been healed! It was a real surprise. She became overjoyed. “Oh, thank you, Jesus, thank you so much.”

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To know that she had a right faith to heal her daughter, Jesus intended to put this woman to shame, not just to ignore her. Jesus tested how great her love and faith was and if her faith was genuine or not.

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In spite of all shame and indignity, this mother’s love of her daughter made her come to Jesus and plead to heal her daughter. She had a deep love in her heart for her daughter to become well.

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Like this, our parents try to do the best that they can for us. With love, our parents surmount all of our difficulties. Parents’ love is much greater and stronger than we think. You, faithful friends, need to give thanks to all your parents on Parents’ Sunday. Think about how best you can serve your parents’ with respect and love!