Luke 7: When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. 2 At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. 3 When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. 4 So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, 5 “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.” 6 So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. 7 I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 8 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” 10 And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.
Have you ever been around someone who has a surprising faith. I mean the kind of faith and assurance that makes fear and despair flee in any situation. That kind of immerssive faith is impressive and is very contagious. To totally put yourself in God's hands to the point that nothing fazes you is a very strong way to live life. James speaks to this kind of faith in James 1:5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. As you can see, this faith thing is not only confined to asking for healing, but also expands to wisdom and in this context we see that we need to be undivided in our loyalty to God and reject the world's way of looking at things. Of course, the physical healing of our bodies is a necessary, but think about the prospects of having pure wisdom that is lined up with the Mind of Christ. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 2:14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Sometimes a blind, trusting faith can seem like foolishness to some people but according to the above scripture it means they aren't looking at it with spiritual eyes, and maybe that is because they don't have spiritual eyes. The world may convince us that we are looking through "rose colored glasses" which means unduly, optimistic, sentimental, or wistful perspective on or about something. But really is it?
Back to the scripture in Luke 7. The pronouncement of true faith by the Roman Officer when he said to Jesus "“Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. 7 I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. Wow!! Surprising faith "from a Roman!"
Jesus said "I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel." For those of us who have the Holy Spirit this should not be the case. In other words, someone who doesn't know Jesus should not have more substantial faith than we do. Our faith should be pure, powerful, and pronounced in all the situations of life. The Roman soldier had a respect for the Jewish people because he showed a love for the Jewish people and even built them a synagogue. All of that didn't mean he was a follower of Jesus, but it showed he was a believer in the power of Jesus. Wow! I would hope my faith would be more as a follower of Jesus than someone who doesn't even know Him!!
It is time to be people of faith once again and believe for God to do great and mighty things in our midst. It is time to begin to make moves in our lives with pure faith-driven wisdom that only comes from a single-minded faith. IT IS TIME!! Begin today praying to God for wisdom and be single minded in your prayer and God will speak to you and give you life direction. Just be ready for Jesus to "rock your world" but it will be the best way to live.
The Pilgrimage continues.....
David Warren
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