Faith with Action

Word:

Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

Jesus reached out and touched him, “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. —Matthew 8:2-3


When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left here. Then she got up and prepared a meal for him.
—Matthew 8:14-15


Observation:

I noticed two distinct things happening here in these two portions of scripture within the same chapter of Matthew. In the first one, at first glance, I see what seems like a typical healing by Jesus. But at second glance, and especially after reading through this whole chapter I see that this is a demonstration of perfect faith. A man sick with one of the worst illnesses of the day doesn’t come begging Jesus to heal him, but approaches Him with the respect He deserves. Not expecting Jesus to heal him necessarily, but nevertheless completely convinced that Jesus CAN if He is willing to. And as a result of that faith, Jesus is willing and the life-destroying leprosy is eradicated from the man!

The second observation I made is related to the faith that the man with leprosy had, however this scripture gives amazing instruction on how to handle ourselves, yes every day, but especially after an incredible encounter with the Lord. Peter’s mother-in-law has a fever, and after Jesus heals her, I noticed she didn’t get up and begin bowing at His feet and thanking him. She got up and showed Him her thanks and immediately prepared a meal for Jesus.

Revelation:

Two distinct observations about having faith with two distinct realizations. Faith is absolutely necessary to our survival in this world. Clearly God can do anything. His power is unlimited and if He wants to, He will heal a complete unbeliever miraculously if it is what He desires. However, this leprosy-ridden man shows us a clear demonstration of how the Kingdom works. He didn’t beg Jesus, shouting over and over hoping Jesus would finally give in and just heal him. This man KNEW that Jesus COULD heal him. Much like the woman with bleeding that simply touched Jesus’ cloak, this man was confident that this was God in the flesh and that if He wanted to, He would heal him. He came to Jesus with reverence. His approach was to come and kneel before Jesus respectfully, and in a few simple words he proves his faith to the Lord. In a more modern tongue it may sound like, “Jesus, I KNOW you can heal me, I need you to heal me, so if it is what you want to do, clean me!” The result? The Lord exclaims, “Be healed!” The exclamation mark almost implies the excitement of Jesus that someone with such dire circumstances would be so sure that not only was Jesus who He claimed to be, but that He could do anything he wanted to do. I know that’s what my Lord desires from me, to be the kind of person of faith that comes not merely expecting God to do a miracle, but KNOWING He CAN do the miracle if it is His plan or desire. To me personally, expecting something can almost have a hint of speculation to it. Expecting your bills to be paid sounds different than KNOWING that your bills will be paid. I think that’s because with the former you might not be doing a thing to actually make that come about, while knowing something means you have the up-and-up on the situation putting your faith to action just like the man with leprosy. He didn’t expect Jesus to heal him, but he came anyway, reverently kneeling before Him, knowing that, “if Jesus wants to heal me, He can.” Boy do I want to approach God that way. From now on I want to not come expecting God to do something for me, but rather knowing that if God wants to do something miraculously for me, He will. I think there’s more peace-of-mind and spirit as well as wisdom in this approach to the Lord.

The second part of this revelation is what Peter’s mother-in-law did as soon as she was healed. She didn’t run around telling everyone what Jesus had just done for her, and didn’t fall at His feet thanking Him with words. She got up and she did something for Him. She physically did what she could to satisfy what need or desire the Lord had at that moment. In this case, He was hungry, so she fed him. I’m not in any way implying that one should not tell the whole world about Jesus and what he may have done for one’s self. I’ve been there many times myself; wanting to exclaim to the world the majesty and mercy of Christ because of something He did for me financially or maybe just emotionally. But I think, for me, the message here is to be ready to work for the Lord. The work isn’t going to do itself, and especially in times where Jesus comes and touches something in my life, instead of simply telling Him how grateful I am, I will show Him. I’m very guilty of being very thankful for something the Lord has done for me one day, telling him how thankful, and then moving on to the next need I have. I want the Lord to see through my actions, not just my words, how grateful I am to Him not just for what He does for me in a moment, but for what He did on the Cross. Everyday I will live my life in a way like I’m preparing a meal for the Lord.

Prayer:

Thank you Lord for your Word. I hunger after it and thank you that we have It here in this life as a guide to help us live better and better for you on a moment-by-moment basis. From now on, give me the faith to come before you reverently, not expecting you to do something for me, but knowing that if you want to you CAN do it. And regardless of my circumstances, and especially when you have shown your glory miraculously, will I not be content with simply telling you how grateful I am, but I will “prepare a meal for you” and put my faith to work! I love you Jesus!

Amen!