The Faith Of The Centurion: In Memory of Bob Nelson

"Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. And Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this 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 it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” ~ Matthew 8:5-10

During our current study on prayer, we discussed intercessory prayer. One of the key elements to prayer is believing God will respond. This is why we yield our requests to him, trusting and believing. In this scripture, the Centurion's faith is such that he does not feel the need for Jesus to come to his home; he only asks for Jesus to speak a word. Just His word will suffice. This faith came from a gentile and soldier in the Roman army! The faith of the Centurion was the greatest measure of faith Jesus had ever found.

Our desire should be to have the faith of the Centurion. Too often, when the storms of life come crashing down upon us, our faith wavers. Even the most 'grounded' Christians will have glimpses of doubt. We are only human, right? Nonsense. Our faith is key to the future of our soul; that is my belief, anyway. Our sufferings are the only way to bring glory to God. Shouldn't we maintain our strongest moments of faith amidst them?

We are not to aspire to man's ways; our goal is to become more like Christ throughout our walk with him. So, I suppose I am not looking at my brother in Christ in a way that I aspire to be like him. No, I aspire to be more like Christ, as my brother demonstrated in his life. His faith was unwavering, even in the most treacherous of storms. His faith and love for God spoke to my heart over and over again throughout this past year. When the Lord put him on my heart, I would recall his email; his declaration of the utmost faith and humility. The times his words echoed upon my heart were times my own faith was weak, or when I'd witness another faltering in their faith. God used the faith of this Centurion, this Warrior for Christ, to strengthen mine.

"But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." ~ Luke 22:32

When I first met Bob Nelson, we were both serving on our church Pray Team. After I heard a short version of his testimony, I sort of held onto the word God gave him to share. He was truly a living miracle, as he'd received healing from stage 4 cancer years before. The word of God was embedded in his heart, and his prayers were anointed. My thought after meeting him was, 'So this is what a godly man is like'. When his email was distributed to members of the Pray Team and our church leaders, I was saddened. Cancer had returned, very aggressively, to his body. The message explained quite a bit of the medical diagnosis, however, what stood out above all else was Bob's faith. The actual subject to his email was titled, "Time for more of His glory!" After reading it, I wept. Every time I read it, I weep. His faith grew my faith. Is that what it means for 'iron to sharpen iron'? If not, it did anyway.

Today, my prayer is for Bob's family, as they are the ones left to mourn the loss of their loved one. My prayer is for the faith of this mighty soldier to carry on in his wife and children. What a legacy.