Some passages of Scripture don’t yield easily to careful analysis.
We’re used to treating every word as serious, precise, and direct. And that’s good—to a point. But sometimes Jesus speaks with irony. Sometimes He exaggerates. Sometimes He sets something up just to see what we’ll do with it.
He was often more indirect than we expect. And sometimes, He was even playful.
Take the moment a Gentile woman from Syrian Phoenicia approaches Him, begging Him to heal her daughter from a demon.
Jesus replies, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” (In those days, Jews often referred to Gentiles as “dogs.”)
That’s a hard line. Shocking, even. It sounds nothing like the Jesus we think we know. But what if there’s more going on? What if Jesus saw something in her?What if He knew she was quick, sharp, able to meet Him in that moment?
Imagine a glint in His eye. Because she doesn’t shrink back. She steps in.
“Yes, Lord,” she says, “but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.”
And just like that—she’s in.
“Good answer!” Jesus says. “Go home. The demon has left your daughter.”
It’s almost as if He’s saying, That’s it. You get it. You belong here.
So what’s happening here?
Jesus isn’t pushing her away. He’s drawing her out. He’s revealing a faith that knows its place—and trusts His heart anyway. She doesn’t demand a seat. She’s willing to take the scraps. And in doing so, she finds something greater: She’s welcomed in.
That’s the story of all of us.
If you’re a Jew who believes in Jesus, thank God for eyes to see.
If you’re not—then you’re like the rest of us at that table. We didn’t earn a place here. We didn’t deserve it. And yet—by grace alone—there’s a seat with our name on it.
We come humbly.
We come gratefully.
And we come amazed that we’re even here at all.
[For the whole story, go to Mark 7:24-30]
And now, there’s another table.
It’s the table that holds this ministry together.
The people seated here are our MemberPartners—the ones who have chosen to say, this matters, and I’m in.
They make it possible for the message of grace to go out every day:
- to thousands reading the daily Catch
- to a growing online church
- to people across more than 140 countries
- to those needing prayer, counsel, and connection right now
This isn’t theory. It’s happening. Every day.
And here’s the truth: There’s still room at the table.
I’m asking you personally—pull up a chair.
These are uncertain times. People are searching, questioning, hurting. And we have the opportunity to meet them right where they are—with honesty, with grace, and with Jesus at the center.
We’re praying for 44 new MemberPartners.
Not just donors.
People who take their place.
People who say, I want to be part of this.
So come to the table.
Not because you have to.
Not because you’ve earned it.
But because, like that woman long ago, you’ve discovered something:
Even the smallest place in what God is doing
is more than enough.
And somehow—by His grace—
it turns out it’s not just scraps after all.
It’s a seat.
And we’ve been saving one for you.
