Humility Ignites Faith
“When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion replied, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too 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 servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.’ When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.’ Matthew 8:5-11
Whenever I read this about this encounter between Christ and the centurion, it fires me up to also be identified as a man of “such great faith.” But is that not our human nature at work? We want the great prize, we want the recognition, we want the praise, but we do not always recognize the effort and commitment required to attain it. We want to be known as a person of great faith, but are we willing to do what the centurion did to achieve that place?
First, the centurion did not express he was a man of faith, but that he was a man who understood authority. He expressed that he is a man UNDER authority. The key word here is under! Secondly, for a Roman Centurion to go to a Jew for help was unheard-of in that era. They were enemies; Rome had conquered and was in control of Israel. Lastly, Romans had their own religious system filled with false gods and idols. Their belief was their gods were greater than other nations’ gods; thus, their nation can conquer other nations. So why would a Roman centurion turn from his gods to Yahweh God?
The answer is he was willing to do something others were not willing to do. He was willing to HUMBLE himself!! He was a man of great power and authority, but was willing to lower himself and also ask for help. And because he humbled himself, Christ was “marveled,” leading Him to proclaim the centurion’s great faith! Humility is defined as being “free of pride.” Pride is man-centered while humility is Christ-centered.
“But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”” James 4:6
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” James 4:10
As we start our day, are we willing to humble ourselves? Humble ourselves before the Father and seek His will. Humble ourselves and recognize the need for Holy Spirit. As the example set by the centurion, it does not matter what worldly position you have, allow humility to ignite your faith.