Luke 7:1-10
When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, "He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us." And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for those who struggle with depression.
The centurion understood who he was. He knew that he was in charge of people, and that he carried that burden upon his shoulders of responsibility. He knew that he was responsible for those who were under him.
What was even greater, though, is that he understood who he was in the light of Christ. He knew that it was Christ who has control over all things, and He knew that it is Christ that all things are made new. He understood that he had no control over how the health of this slave, but that all things rely on Christ.
Does this mean that there are no need for doctors, nurses, psychiatrists and others in the medical profession? Just as the slave were put under the centurion's responsibility through God's plan, patients are placed under those in the medical profession through God's providence.
It is amazing how this centurion, who was in power, was able to submit his responsibilities to Christ. It's even more amazing how Christ declares that his faith is greater than any he has seen in Israel. No matter what power or authority God has placed you in, remember today that whatever power God has given to you, God wants you to use that power to draw you closer to Him, and to draw others closer to Him. We must focus on Christ in all things that we do. Take care and God Bless.
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