Scripture 

 “For I am also a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” - Luke 7:8

Observations

When I first read this scripture, I saw the centurion as an outsider, too arrogant even to approach Jesus personally. But Jesus’s response made me think and study, and I can see where the centurion is coming from. This is a guy whose faith in Jesus Christ is so strong that a miracle is completely expected. “Just do it,” he says, because he knows without even a sliver of doubt that Jesus is who he says he is, and that the Lord can do anything. The centurion doesn’t even see Jesus, hasn’t been following him around for days, but his faith is nonetheless complete.

Application

Strong faith is easy to mistake for blind faith, and blind faith has a very negative stigma in today’s cynical world. We’re all brought up not to be “suckers,” because somebody can and will take advantage of us. But there were suckers and shysters then, too, and this centurion knew the difference between blind and true faith. I need to fight against the cynicism that can so easily rear its head whenever faith finds a spot in my heart. I’m learning, though, and I’ve genuinely felt God’s hand guiding me through the process.

Prayer

Lord, allow me to maintain a faith that is a foundation, something I never need to question, because once faith is solid in the mind, the mind is free of doubt and anything is possible.

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