She Came to Jesus with Nothing

Just as I am

The woman of Canaan in Matthew 15:10-28 came to Jesus with nothing. European and American Christians come to Jesus with pride and arrogance. We believe that our heritage makes us superior. Canaanite history by contrast was reprehensible and despised. We quickly forget our own shame. The Napituca, Mystic and Jamestown Massacres are only a few of the many shameful acts of American history. The Spanish Inquisition, Polish pogroms and Nazi atrocities are only a few of the many shameful acts of European history. The disciples were from a people with a long history of knowledge of God but they had little faith. The Canaanite woman came to Jesus with nothing, but her faith was strong. Perhaps like Paul we ought to count our own pasts as dung (Philippians 3:7-8) and come to Jesus with nothing to brag about.