March 15, 2014 Luke 7:1-10 After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. 3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. 4 When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy of having you do this for him, 5 for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.” 6 And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; 7 therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I also am a man set 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 slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” 9 When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health. PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL Power can be the worst of addictions. Many people who through wealth or position become so hungry for power that they miss use it. In the above story the Centurion was not one of those addicted to power. He knew that he had power to direct soldiers and servants to do whatever he wanted or needed. The thing that impresses me about this man is that he seemingly cared deeply about those who were under his direction. He cared about the community he was living in and built their synagogue. The people of the community seeing one of his favorite servants was dying went to Jesus on his behalf. The man was not presumptuous and thus did not go to Jesus himself. However, when Jesus came to him the man has only one desire that his servant be made well. Jesus is impressed by the Centurion’s humility and heals his servant. Power should always be used for positive purposes and not become a human addiction. Truly powerful people are well aware of their power and are cautious about how they use it. Each of us is given a measure of power and we need to explore how it is best used. Will we use it as something we desire more of or will we use it for the good of all around us? Prayer: Lord Jesus, humble us so that we may use the power that is given us to do what is good and right. Send your Holy Spirit to give us hearts and minds that always consider other people before with act with our full force. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 11:38:06 +0000
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