A little recap of yesterday's message
Heard any good comeback lines lately? A quick, witty reply is called a "repartee" (pronounced "rep-ar-TAY"). Repartee can also mean, then, "the art of the comeback." But better to give an example. The following is one of the most famous.
Nancy Astor, the first female elected to Parliament, was at a dinner party in the company of Winston Churchill. Churchill, who had been drinking, was pontificating on some subject. Lady Astor could take it no more and said, "Winston, if you were my husband, I'd put poison in your coffee." Churchill seemed ready with his reply. "Nancy, if you were my wife, I'd drink it."
It's possible, though, that the Bible contains the best repartee ever uttered. It comes from the Canaanite woman who came and knelt before Jesus, asking His help for her daughter.
"And He answered, 'It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.' She said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table'" (Matt. 15:26-27).
This Gentile woman gets the best of Him, doesn't she? And what is the best of Christ? His mercy.
But we can take this exchange between Christ and the woman too seriously. Know that the two of them could not have been more playful! It may even be correct to say that they are spiritually flirting. He is flirting with her faith, and finds her humility irresistible. She is flirting with His mercy. There is a deep love and understanding.
In this repartee, both sides win. The woman wins because she believes in Him and receives His help. Christ wins because all He ever wanted was to give it.
This same Christ is courting your faith. Let Him be drawn to it by the beauty of your humility.
