What do you get when you mix a Roman soldier, a sick servant and Jesus? Amazing faith. That‘s what Jesus called the faith of the centurion in Luke 7?
But how does this pagan general fit into the spiritual scheme of things?
Was this man a spiritual giant? Did he memorize or keep all the 10 commandments? If he did, it isn’t mentioned in the text. It just talks about his belief in Jesus.
His basic premise was simple. If I command my men, they obey me….so if Jesus says it, it will happen. Jesus’ power to heal? He believed in it. Jesus’ authority over illness? He knew Jesus had it. He didn’t seem to stress over it or doubt it or worry about it. He just believed it.
He also knew he didn’t deserve to have Jesus heal his servant, but had faith that Jesus would do it anyway. No airs. No demands. Just a simple request from an undeserving soldier. Jesus not only healed his servant but admired his faith.
Do we try to make this too complex, too deep, too spiritual? Why not believe that what Jesus says he can and will do. He has the power and the authority to heal but also to forgive, to change us, to do whatever needs to be done. We need the faith to believe. What do you get when you mix a student, a problem and Jesus? Let’s see.
Jeannie Vogel
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2 comments:
what strikes me most about this story is that the centurion believed so much that he did not even think it is necessary for Jesus to come to his home. In fact he thought of himself not worthy of Jesus presence, a roman general, who understood that this man a child of Joseph the carpenter was God.
It sure seemed that this man had child-like faith. It seems that you can tell a child just about anything and they will believe you.
Unfortunately, we have trained ourselves to not be so naive. Maybe we shouldn't have. Maybe that is why we don't actually believe what God tells us. Oh, we say we believe everything in the Bible...but have you ever worried about anything?
Lets realize that for once, anything said in the Bible can be believed. We don't have to understand how it all works, but we can trust God's Word.
Jeannie, thanks for the reminder that believing in Christ and His Word is very simple. We make it difficult!
><> Josh
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