Please, persist

Mark 7:24-30
And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house, and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hid. 
But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet. 
Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoeni’cian by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 
And he said to her, “Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 
But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 
And he said to her, “For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 
And she went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone.

Homily:
If you were begging someone for a favour and he said  to you in reply, “Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
Referring to you or your kind as a dog, what will be your honest reaction?

This Greek woman decided to have nothing stand in the way of getting want she wanted for her daughter.
Her pride, her ego, her shame – these were small matters compared to what she needed from Jesus Christ.
Note that she did not need it for herself, but for one she loved.

Life and love is about sacrifice (alternatives forgone).

What inconveniences keep us from persisting when we ask.
Does the inconvenience matter more than what we are asking for?

Please, persist.

Dear Lord, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” – Genesis 32:26

Let’s play

In life, like football, you cannot win if you do not play. This brings joy, alternatives are forgone.

You can lose, whether you play or not. This brings sadness, alternatives are considered.

There are also many times where you play, yet you neither lose nor win. This is a mixed bag – it brings joy sometimes and sadness other times, depending on the alternatives.

In the English Premier League, you get no point only when you either have not played a match or you lost a match.

You get one point immediately you start a match.

You get three points if you win, one point if the game ends as a stalemate (draw) or no point if you lose.

You can go through a whole season of 38 games with draws, get 38 points and still be relegated. But no one has managed to do it.

You can go through a whole season of 38 games with wins, get 114 points and be crowned champion. But no one has managed to do it.

You can go through a whole season of 38 games with losses, get 0 points and be relegated. But no one has managed to do it.

Every team comes to the EPL to win. And as each drives for a win, a mixture of victories, draws and losses determines winners and losers.

At the end of a season, the yearly clock is reset and a new season starts, with the crowning of the top team, elimination of 3 lagging teams and a refresh with 3 hungry teams.

In life, like football, we must play to win. That is the only way to win.

Let’s play.

– Osasu Oviawe

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