What makes great faith?

Pastor Doug was back in the house this morning bringing the Word in a powerful way. He continued to teach on the topic of "Jesus, The Healer" and it was right on time for me. As he discussed the "great faith of the centurion" in Matthew 8, I felt the unmistakable urging of the Holy Spirit to listen up!

What made the centurion's faith so great?

1.   He had great compassion.

When He entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, ^"Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible agony!” (v. 5-6)

A man of his social standing would not typically exhibit this kind of concern for a mere servant. Despite his elite position in Roman society, the centurion displayed great compassion for his slave!

2.   He believed in Jesus' authority and power.

“Lord,” the centurion replied, “I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But only say the word, and my servant will be cured. (v. 8) 

What faith! The centurion fully believed that Jesus could simply say the word and his servant would be healed!

3.   He was submitted to his earthly authority, as well as to the Lordship of Jesus.

For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command. 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.” (v. 9)

The centurion had a solid understanding of authority and that Jesus' authority came from God. Despite his powerful position in Roman society, he displayed great humility by submitting himself to the Lordship of Jesus! 

Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following Him, “I assure you: I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith!  Then Jesus told the centurion, “Go. As you have believed, let it be done for you.” And his servant was cured that very moment. (v. 10, 13)

I felt like God was saying to me that I have great compassion for others and belief in His authority and power, but I was not yet fully submitted to His Lordship.  That is why I have been struggling to submit to some of those that He has placed in authority over me.  Despite whether or not I am feeling condemnation from them, I'm supposed to submit to them out of obedience. I am supposed to show my trust in God by being obedient to them.................................................................Huh!?

Hellooo!!! I felt immediate release from my distrust and resistance toward authority! I am now fully submitted to the Lord and submitted to my authority figures in obedience to Him. Whatever they do is between them and the Lord.

On a side note, I also got peace and clarity on the issue of condemnation that I have been struggling with. Let me see if I can articulate it...

I believe that people generally only have the capacity to understand grace as it pertains to areas in their life in which they themselves have received it.  If they have not received grace in a particular area and don't have any real life experience in that area, some times it can be difficult for them to relate with compassion towards those who have.

Let me give you my personal example:
While I understand that my struggle with  __________  is sin against God, I am more apt to receive correction and guidance from someone who has struggled with  __________  or something similar to  __________  and doesn't constantly have to throw the word "sin" up in my face. I don't need to be told the obvious (that my struggle is sin). I need to be ministered to in love and compassion and counseled as I fight to overcome my sin!

Now please hear what I am not saying:
I am not by any means suggesting that we ignore sin, or that God is in any way okay with sin. I am simply suggesting that we address sin with compassion and not condemnation.  It seems to me that we minister with more compassion in areas that we ourselves have received grace. Maybe it is just how we are wired. We understand things better when we have actually experienced them. But God says that we are supposed to comfort each other when we are in "any kind of affliction" with the same comfort we ourselves have received from Him.

Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

--> All scriptures cited taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.