Being Worthy
What does it take to be worthy of help?
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress." And he said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion answered, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and the slave does it." When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, "Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you according to your faith." And the servant was healed in that hour. When Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, "He took our infirmities and bore our diseases." - Matt. 8:5-17
I love these stories of Jesus curing people and like many who have prayed for miracles, I often wonder why the prayers don't get answered.
The Centurion felt he wasn't worthy of Jesus entering his home, but he still hoped Jesus would help his son.
He cured that boy from a distance, and then went to Peter's home and cured his mother-in-law.
Does He no longer do these things for us, or are we just not humble enough or worthy?
He told us we can ask for anything in His name and it will be given by the Father, but that doesn't seem to work too often, does it?
Sometimes I think it would have been better if He never healed the sick or cast out demons. That way we wouldn't expect a miracle.
Or maybe this is the challenge we have as humans. This time we have is finite and the true reward comes after, but that doesn't make me feel better about losing someone I love.
I want to believe we do not need to worthy of God's grace to receive it, but I would like some special help when it means so much to me.
Living without the one you love dearly is hard.
Finding the strength to keep going is even harder at times.
Is that the answer to my prayers, to be given the strength to deal with the things life shoves my way?
That is not the answer I was hoping for.
Maybe understanding this takes time. Or maybe my questions won't be answered until the day I meet Jesus face-to-face.
Until then, I envy those He cured.
But then, I know, even though the boy survived and the mother-in-law was cured, they eventually died.
In the end, the end is the same.
More to come...