July 9

The Centurian’s Servant

                When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him  and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.”  And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.”  When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.  I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.

Matthew 8:5-13

             

            Sometimes faith comes from unexpected places.  The last place that anyone would have expected to find a man of humility and hope and faith was in the leader of the forces who were occupying and oppressing the children of God.  Maybe the centurian was raised with a deep belief in the supernatural.  Maybe he had connections to the Jewish faith wherever he had come from.  Maybe he was just a man who recognized power when he saw it.

            Whatever the case, the centurian knew approaching a Jewish man, no matter what kind of reputation He had, and asking for a favor would make him look weak and vulnerable to his peers and his men.  The reward was worth the risk because a member of his household was beyond the level of medicine that was available and Jesus was the only hope of his restoration.  The centurian knew power and knew authority and knew that all things were subject to Jesus.  It would only take a word and God could set things right.

            Where do you learn faith?  I had a great example from my parents.  I had outstanding mentors and teachers in college and my early years in ministry.  I married an incredible woman of faith.  I studied scripture and saw who Jesus is and what He invites us into and how God is at work in a fallen and broken world.  I know a lot about God.  But that is not faith.

            Faith is what our children have in us.  Of course Mom and Dad will be there when I call.  Of course they will feed me.  Of course they will take care of me when I get hurt.  When my son was little, he would walk on my bed and when he came to the edge, he would just dive off.  He did not look to see if I was there or check to make sure that I was ready.  He would leap and laugh and I would catch him and swing him back onto the bed to go again.  That is faith.  The fun and the freedom and the belief that your Father is always watching out for you and will not let you fall.

            Did mom and dad being around mean that he never got hurt or that things never went wrong?  Of course not.  There were accidents and injuries and sicknesses because that is the world we live in and it is part of growing up.  But the pain did not invalidate the belief that my son had.  Sometimes parents prevent bad things from happening and sometimes they are to be there to provide comfort and healing after the bad things occur.

            My faith in my Heavenly Father tends to be so fragile.  It is so dependent on whether life is hard right now or not.  I forget that God is good when my circumstances are challenging.  I forget about all the ways that God has taken care of me when my bank account gets small or the drama in the house gets big.  What I need in those times are pictures of faith to remind me how to trust in God…and often they come from unexpected sources.

            Like a soldier commander who humbles himself or a 3 year old autistic boy who embodies what it means to trust your father.

A moment to reflect:

Who has modeled great faith for you?