Meditate is a monthly column in which insights gained from meditating on the Word are shared. We welcome your insights, too, in the form of comments or even your own article. Contact us if you'd like to write a submission for this column. -Editor
Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”
Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick. (Luke 7:1-10)
I have been working on trusting the Lord in my life and contemplating the place of control. What strikes me in the story of the centurion’s servant is how the centurion trusts in the Lord’s power because he has experience being in power himself. And it is this faith that the Lord praises for its greatness.
I am acutely aware these days of how my life is out of my control. When my life feels out of control, I remind myself to trust in the Lord. But trying to trust in the Lord only as a mental exercise doesn’t go very far. Something needs to be done. Trust has to be action. The centurion’s example of faith has helped me understand this. The Lord wants to give us the sense of being in control. It is a good gift. There was a moment when it dawned on me that, even though it seemed silly because I could see how out of my control life really was, I had to take action as if I was in control, even pretend to be in control, while being entirely clear that life was not in my control, but the Lord’s.
I get the sense that the Lord praises the centurion’s faith because he is an example of someone living this gift, knowing that’s just what it is—a gift. I see now how this process of recognizing my lack of control, humbling myself to the Lord’s presence, power, wisdom, and providence in my life, and then picking up the reigns again, only this time with a different sort of grip, is trust in the Lord. This is how I live trust.
Chelsea recently had her third baby and has moved to Glenside, PA. She appreciates the time for reflection writing this column makes her carve out. She is an assistant editor for New Church Connection and an editor and writer for New Church Perspective.