Faith in action
by Ruth Olsen
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Jesus replied, ‘You may go. Your son will live’ (John 4:50a).
Read John 4:43–54
After staying at Sychar in Samaria for two days as requested by the townsfolk, Jesus and his disciples continued their journey on to Galilee, his home territory. That’s a long way to walk! But here he was welcomed because his reputation had gone before him, and they hoped to see more miracles happen.
Jesus came back to Cana where the disciples had witnessed his first miracle (John 2:1–11) and had placed their trust in him. Others had naturally heard of that miracle, stirring curiosity, anticipation and perhaps faith.
‘A certain royal official’, an officer in Herod’s service, had also heard. He came to Jesus begging him to come to his home to heal his desperately ill son. As one commentary says, it seems this royal official thought it necessary that Jesus be present in order to heal the son. Therefore, Jesus reproves his weakness of faith with the reference to seeking signs and wonders. But the father presses in: ‘Come down before my child dies.’ Then Jesus replied, ‘You may go. Your son will live’.
The father’s concern for his son prompted him to press in for help, thereby taking a step of faith, expecting that his son would be helped. There are times when the Lord wants us to ask again because, in the process, our faith, expectation and receptivity grows. We become more ‘engaged’ in what we are asking for, moving from a ‘maybe’ to a ‘yes, please’.
There’s a difference between passively agreeing with something we hear, or hearing something and acting on what was heard. The father took Jesus at his word, turned and started for home. He was no longer requiring Jesus to go home with him but was acting on the word given. On hearing of his son’s recovery, he recognised the connection to Jesus giving his word. Faith grew, impacting a household.
Is there some promise in God’s word that the Spirit is impressing on your heart with regard to something troubling you?
Lord, enlighten the eyes of our hearts to recognise more of what you are doing, to take you at your word and to actively trust you.
Ruth is Steen’s other half, lives in Adelaide, and loves reading. From the Bible, books on Christian living, biographies, especially of someone’s journey of faith, through to Reader’s Digest, the Inquirer section of The Weekend Australian, or travel information etc., many things are opened through reading. That’s also why she enjoys helping Afghani women learn to read and write in English, when they were denied that opportunity with their own language as children.
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