8 “Lord,” the centurion replied, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command.[a] I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
10 Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith. (Matthew 8:8-10 CSB)
I have been in leadership for most of my career. I would love to tell you that, like the centurion, what I asked to have done always happened. But then, business is not like military life, especially life as a Roman centurion where discipline for disobeying an order came harsh and swiftly. But the lesson is not lost on us regarding those in authority, if they do their jobs well, get things done whether they are present or not.
This centurion knew, intrinsically, Jesus was in command and heaven and earth were under his authority. He had seen enough that his faith was strong that anything Jesus said would be done, regardless of His presence. He had great faith in both Christ and command.
Do we show this type of faith. Do we ask and then go about our day knowing that God will intercede for us? Do we simply know by faith that no matter what God’s answer is that it will be the best for us? Or do we continue to pray and question why things are not happening the way we expect?
The faith of the centurion should not be such an amazing story for we who have faith. It should simply be confirmation of all that scripture tells us about God’s nature. It should only be yet another story of how God will and does work in our lives.
