Jesus gave some of the most coveted compliments to the most unlikely of people. In Luke 7, a centurion discovers Jesus and implores Him to come and heal his dear servant. The account ends with the servant healed but Jesus making the comment to the following crowds, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel” (Luke 7:9). What types of qualities characterized this centurion’s faith and made it great in the eyes of the Savior?
A Great Faith is a Loving Faith (7:2).
The centurion’s relationship to his servant really says much about the centurion’s character. This was not just a per-son who was under his authority as a servant, but rather, he was “dear to him.” He was willing to do anything to help his servant get better. Each person is valuable in the sight of God. Do we as Christians recognize the healing power of the gospel to the ones who are dear to us (cf. Jn. 3:16, I Jn. 4:7)?
A Great Faith is an Active Faith (7:5).
The centurion acted in sending two different groups of people to Jesus: the Jews and his friends. He did not simply wish or hope for his servant’s healing, but it was an active pursuit. Our active pursuit should be obtaining the qualities of Jesus in our own lives, as well as actively seeking to bring men to Him. Faith without works is indeed, dead (James 2:14-26).
A Great Faith is a Reputable Faith (7:4).
The Jews in his community knew this man as “deserving.” He loved the Jewish nation and did good works for them. His reputation and character were known to many. Our light as Christians, shines in a dark world (Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:15). People may know us, but do they know us as people of character, principles and good will within our community? Our reputation has a great impact upon our effectiveness in bringing men to Christ.
A Great Faith is a Humble Faith (7:6-7).
Reading through scripture, there are really only two things at which Jesus marveled: people’s unbelief (Mark 6:6), and a genuinely humble faith like this centurion. As it is recorded, the centurion never came and met with Jesus personally. However, the centurion, by his own ad-mission, understood authority and where he was in relationship to Jesus. The words of John come to mind when he declared that he was not even worthy to untie the shoes of Jesus (Mark 1:7).
Does that type of humility characterize your Christian walk? It is the humble mind of Christ that we’re striving to possess and keep that characterizes our faith (Phil. 2:1-11).
A Great Faith is a Blessed Faith (7:10).
Time and time again, it is evident that faith is rewarded (Matt. 9:22; Mark 10:52; Luke 17:19; Luke 18:42). In this case, the faith of the centurion, by the power of God, was able to affect a positive change in the life of his servant. Can your faith do that? The Holy Spirit, through Paul, said that in the gospel, the “righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith”. Your faith in Jesus can help to affect others in a very real sense and cause them to want to come to know Him. What an impact it must have had on the centurion’s servant to know the difference Jesus made, be-cause of the great faith of his master. God grant to us more Christians with great faith in living like Jesus that our life brings glory to Him!
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