The Centurion

I haven't written in a while, but not because life has been dull. It's been anything but that! But I apologize for not sharing recently. I have been getting up very early in the morning, (not as easy as I would like it to be), to spend some time reading, praying, and just being still. It has been a healthy discipline for me, though, both spiritually, emotionally and physically.

Yesterday I was reading in Luke about the centurion whose  servant was very sick, and I can't stop thinking about this story. He loved this servant, and had heard about Jesus' ability to heal. What struck me was the fact that as important a person as the centurion was in that society, he felt unworthy to go to Jesus or to have Jesus come to him. In modern terms, he felt unworthy to go to God or to have God come to him: simply unworthy to be in God's presence at all. Yet he needed God's help in a situation he could not control.

I know I have also been there many times, feeling unworthy of God's love, attention or time, yet needing help because life is out of "my" control. In those circumstances, I tend to pray less, withdraw, and fill my days with busyness. Yet the centurion understood something about Jesus that I many times forget: that He has authority just by His word. Even if I don't feel worthy to enter His presence, (for whatever reason), I can be assured that His word is powerful and true. It  can heal. His authority to meet my needs does not depend on my feelings, especially on how worthy I think I am, but solely on who He is...."Emanuel"..."God with us."

That Jesus was physically present did not matter to the centurion. He understood the power and authority given to Jesus (and today to His church). And Jesus said, "I have not found such great faith, even in Israel!" (Luke 7:9)

We can't "see" Jesus as in ancient times when He was physically on the earth. Yet we can imitate the centurion. When we feel unworthy of God's love or presence, we need to remember that His word is what matters, and He says He loves us and we are His sons and daughters. It's amazing how healing happens that seems impossible when we grasp this truth!  Even healing of the deepest wounds!