Simple Faith

SCRIPTURE
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith”…Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.


OBSERVATION
My first observation? Where do I start? These verses are so full of rich layers of meaning. All will agree, this is a very powerful story, but the verse that touched my heart today was verse 9: “For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me”. The centurion understood Jesus’ power under God better than anyone at that moment. His faith was based on a personal acknowledgement that Jesus had an authority greater than his servant’s suffering.


APPLICATION
My dad used to say, “Faith is simple”. He was right. The faith of the Centurion was truly simple because he simply acknowledged Jesus’ authority. Applying the meaning of these verses to our lives is also simple. It is clear that as Christians, we acknowledge Jesus as Lord and profess our understanding of His saving grace. And on a daily basis, we must also simply acknowledge His almighty authority as the one and only Son of God.

PRAYER
Father, in the busyness of my life, it can be too easy to forget your almighty authority as the God of the Universe. Please forgive me if I’ve overlooked your sovereignty in my life. Strengthen my understanding of Your authority. Teach me more and more about who You are. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Paula Aiton
Worship Department
Woodwinds/Keyboard/Section Leader