Luke 7

One of the most challenging stories in the Gospels is the story of the Roman centurion. It's challenging on a couple of different levels.

First, the centurion was not like anyone else that had approached Christ. For one thing, he wasn't sick. His servant was sick. For another, he didn't want Jesus to go into his house to heal the servant because he wasn't worthy to have Christ enter his home. This tells us that the man, despite being a Roman centurion, had great faith and great compassion. The amazing thing, though, is that he believed that Christ could heal his servant remotely. That testifies to a belief that Jesus was more than just a man and more than just a prophet. No one had ever done such a thing before – healed without being at least in close proximity.

Second, the centurion challenges us to recognize the order of the universe. The centurion recognized Christ as the head of a bigger organization. The commander, so to speak, of legions, and he expected that whatever Christ said should be done would be done. He didn't go to Christ as if he were putting money in a vending machine and expecting the soda of his choice to pop out. He approached Christ as the king of the universe. Someone he wasn't even worthy to speak with. Someone that could heal his servant, but only if it was something that suited Him.

Of course, Christ used this as an example of great faith and challenged all of us with it. Do you believe in Christ as the ruler of the universe or as a vending machine that we can just put in a few hours of church and expect to receive the miracle of your choice?