Have you ever heard of a centurion? Simply put, it means a Roman captain. He was loyal and courageous, beginning as a soldier in the army and working his way up the ranks. There's a special passage in Matthew 8:5-13 MSG that mentions an encounter that a centurion had with Jesus:
“As Jesus entered Capernaum, a
Roman captain came up in a panic and said, “Master, my servant is sick. He
can’t walk. He’s in terrible pain.” Jesus said, “I’ll come and heal him.” "Oh, no,” said the
captain. “I don’t want to put you to all that trouble. Just give the order and my
servant will be fine. I’m a man who takes orders and gives orders. I tell one
soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; to my slave, ‘Do
this,’ and he does it.” Taken aback, Jesus said, “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust in
Israel, the very people who are supposed to know all about God and how he
works."
Am I the only one who is kind of amazed that Jesus himself was amazed of this mans faith? I mean,
Jesus, King of kings, Powerful Lord, well, he can do it all, more than we can
even begin to imagine. Yet, Jesus was amazed and taken aback by this mans
faith. He even pointed out that he had not come across such trust.
This past Monday, the message was centered on this passage. Pastor Gonzalo preached about how Jesus can heal every single one of our physical and emotional scars, if only we had faith. I believe this so much.
Pain only Jesus can heal
This past Monday night I met a lady whose name I
won't reveal. She was much older and was new in the area. She asked me for some
directions, which prompted a conversation that I will never forget.
She told me about how she had been abused since
she was a little girl by her mother. When she got married, her husband abused
her and broke her bones. All her life has been abuse. When I asked her about
her family, she lied at first and denied having any, but just a few seconds
later she looked down at the concrete floor and confessed that she did have
family, but they didn't want anything to do with her and she didn't know why.
This completely broke my heart.
You know, I've been working with the homeless
for about 7 years now and I've heard so many stories, but the reality is that
they never get old and sometimes I encounter people that you can feel their
pain a mile away. Her demeanor was sad, yet when she professed her faith in God
and I would see a spark of joy in her again.
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
I have found that the longer I work with people
who are in need, whether they are homeless or not, the more their need reaches
my heart. It's like God puts more and more of his heart into yours. He's
transforming it, giving you His eyes for others, and breaking your heart for
what breaks His. All this while giving you strength to fulfill His mission.
I hope to see this lady this upcoming Monday
again. I pray that God uses our team to reach her. May her heart be more
susceptible to the healing and love of God like never before. I pray this for
her and every individual on the streets. I pray for transformation, an increase
of faith and trust in the Lord and that Jesus
may just sweep His grace and love over the streets of Miami tonight.
Jesus, the humble initiator
There's so much to talk about when it comes to
Matthew 8:3-15, but I wanted to point out one last thing. Jesus is such a servant. He was willing to visit the roman
captains house while already knowing that he could heal his servant with just a
snap of his fingers, and still he initially was going to go and seek this
individual. Jesus continues to do this very same thing
today. He goes to people. When requested to go to the home of the
centurion, he is on his way. He’s a humble initiator. He is going out to serve.
He is going out to help. He goes to preach, teach, cast out demons, and heal. God is looking for us because we’re lost, and He is not. Some of you don’t know it,
but Jesus is looking for you. He is seeking you. He knows you. He loves you. He
died for you. He’s pursuing you. He’s a humble initiator. He doesn’t owe us
anything, but he pursues us in love.
