Devotionals by Dr. M. Craig Barnes

I also am a man under authority. Matthew 8:9

A centurion once asked Jesus to heal his servant. Feeling unworthy as a Gentile to have Jesus come to his home, the centurion said, "Only speak the word and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority." We are told that Jesus was amazed by this man¹s faith. Jesus didn't get amazed often, and certainly not by someone's faith.

What is so impressive about the centurion's faith? Not its strength. It doesn't matter how much faith you have, you can't insure that your loved ones are healed. It isn¹t our faith but Jesus who does the healing. The centurion knew that and placed himself under Jesus¹ authority. That was what made his faith so amazing. His faith was not in what he wanted to have happen. His faith was in Jesus Christ, no matter what happened.

If our faith is contingent on getting what we want, it's not really faith but just one more thing to try. Faith is not a means to an end; it's a means of responding to Jesus. It places us under his authority, even if the word he speaks is not the one we wanted to hear.

Everyone lives under some authority. It may be the hurts from the past, the dreams for the future, or the idols you serve, but we are all getting our directions for life from some place. That's where you have placed your faith. To put your faith in Jesus necessarily means you will not always understand his will. That's because he's the authority.

-- Craig Barnes