Thoughts for the Day

Then Jesus came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.’ The official said to him, ‘Sir, come down before my little boy dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, ‘Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.’ The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

When is our faith strong, and do we take it for granted? For Peter his faith in Jesus meant he would walk on water when he saw Jesus coming across the Lake of Galilee. Unfortunately that faith only lasted for a few moments, though to be fair he did immediately call Jesus to be rescued from drowning (Matthew 14.22-33). Perhaps we could say he lacked faith in himself, but not in Jesus. When our life is busy with day-to-day things we can take our faith for granted, and put it on the back burner. So when life gets difficult, is that faith burning bright when we need it?

If we look at the story of the royal official and the healing of his son, we see that sheer desperation sent him to Jesus. Today it would be as bizarre as though the Prince of Wales (UK) went to a local carpenter who had a reputation for some kind of healing and asked him to cure his son, for the phrase "royal official" indicates some kind of ruler in Greek. Finally we find that the carpenter informs him that his son has been healed from a distance, and we're told the ruler believes him. It is a very bizarre story!

Perhaps our faith is sometimes at our strongest when our need is at its strongest, in other words when we're desperate. Remember 'faith' is not 'hope', rather it is certainty that God can sort out the problem. As we move towards Good Friday and then Easter Sunday let us be certain of our faith that God has all things under control and holds us safe in His hands.

Lord Jesus Christ,
we pray that it will not take a calamity
for our faith in You to shine brightly,
but ask that You will strengthen our trust
in You so that we walk in Your way
each day of our life
until You call us to our heavenly home.
Amen.