"The path of spiritual transformation today lies through the illumination that we have ruined souls..." ~Dallas Willard
The last couple days I've been in Matthew 8:5-13. This afternoon I was really, really tired - that afternoon slump that makes you want to go to bed at 5:00. I stretched out on the bed, thinking Yeah, I am totally gonna fall asleep. I pulled out this passage, though...and felt strangely, deeply rested and energized.
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 he said, "Go; let it be done for you according to your faith." And the servant was healed in that hour.
You can sense the man's desperation. He is broken, conscious of his need, his frailty. And yet he is bold enough to approach Jesus. What really grabs my attention is that he calls Jesus Lord. Here's a guy who has some power. He can tell people what to do, manipulate circumstances in his favor....play God, in other words. Much like myself and most of the people I know. We have a great deal of say-so in the happenings of our lives...or we like to think we do, anyway. But the centurion lays it all aside and openly acknowledges his helplessness. But he is not hopeless. He calls this other Man....Lord. But as he does this, there is a churning hope within him...a knowing...that this Man will bring redemption.
When Jesus commends the centurion for his faith - I have typically heard this as referring to the man's understanding of authority, his boldness in coming to Jesus and making his desires clear. Faith is so often reduced to some abstract thing that obliges God to do whatever it is we apply it to.
But now I wonder....I wonder if Jesus is actually commending the man's humility...the beautiful and perfect blend of brokenness and boldness. Is this, then, what faith really means? To acknowledge my brokenness, my frailty, my utter helplessness....but not without hope. By admitting my weakness, I allow myself to accept the strength of One far greater than myself...One who can, who will, bring redemption. But the doorway...is surrender. Coming to know and act on the knowledge that I am not God.
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 he said, "Go; let it be done for you according to your faith." And the servant was healed in that hour.
You can sense the man's desperation. He is broken, conscious of his need, his frailty. And yet he is bold enough to approach Jesus. What really grabs my attention is that he calls Jesus Lord. Here's a guy who has some power. He can tell people what to do, manipulate circumstances in his favor....play God, in other words. Much like myself and most of the people I know. We have a great deal of say-so in the happenings of our lives...or we like to think we do, anyway. But the centurion lays it all aside and openly acknowledges his helplessness. But he is not hopeless. He calls this other Man....Lord. But as he does this, there is a churning hope within him...a knowing...that this Man will bring redemption.
When Jesus commends the centurion for his faith - I have typically heard this as referring to the man's understanding of authority, his boldness in coming to Jesus and making his desires clear. Faith is so often reduced to some abstract thing that obliges God to do whatever it is we apply it to.
But now I wonder....I wonder if Jesus is actually commending the man's humility...the beautiful and perfect blend of brokenness and boldness. Is this, then, what faith really means? To acknowledge my brokenness, my frailty, my utter helplessness....but not without hope. By admitting my weakness, I allow myself to accept the strength of One far greater than myself...One who can, who will, bring redemption. But the doorway...is surrender. Coming to know and act on the knowledge that I am not God.
"...we have become people so locked into our own self-worship and denial of God that we cannot want God. We cannot want God to be God. Wanting God to be God is very different from wanting God to help us." ~Dallas Willard
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