Good morning everyone,

Luke 7:3-6-When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue." 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof………(read the whole story)

The centurion went from random elders who knew nothing of his heart towards God, to his friends that represented his heart. These Jewish elders saw themselves as "the special children of Abraham". So because the centurion blessed them by building them a synagogue they thought the centurion earned the right to have his servant healed.

But they get the whole essence of relationship with God wrong because their is no way of "earning" for prayers to be answered. His friends however knew his heart, and pleaded to Jesus on behalf of mercy undeserved by him, even though he built a synagogue for religious people. The centurion did not appeal to what noble thing he did, or religious gesture he did for whom, he just appealed to how undeserving he was to have Jesus in His house!

This man understood the mercy or goodness of God is purely up to whether God wants to show it or not, and nothing else. So the centurion concludes that solely on the basis of mercy from Jesus, He only has to "say the word" and his servant will be healed! Jesus marvels at the reverence to obey and the faith that this man has to trust in His Word as the greatest authority and influence upon His life.

Dare to ask yourself how reverent are you to God’s mercy? Do you appeal to God like the elders, believing God owes you and other people for how devout they are or their good works? Or are you becoming more like the centurion, knowing that it is only mercy that gives us the privilege to obey and believe in His Word, and see great things happen that glorify Him? Only one of them leads to salvation, answered prayers, gratitude, and a life maturing in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In His Love, Ld