Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Matthew 8:8b But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.
LIVING, ENERGETIC, ACTIVE
When the centurion turned to Jesus for help, notice his concern wasn't for himself but for one of his servants. Faith in Christ looks out for the welfare others. Martin Luther says: "Oh, a living, energetic, active, mighty thing is this faith. It is impossible for it not to do good incessantly. Nor does it ask whether good works are to be done; but before the question is put, it has already done them and is forever doing them."
When the communists were still in control of East Germany, Erich Honecker, ruler of East Germany, along with his wife Margot, went out of their way to make life miserable for East German Christians. When a certain Pastor Holmer, for example, tried to enroll his children in the local University, the Honeckers made sure that each child -- all eight of them -- were denied admission. But when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, and democracy prevailed over communism, the tables were turned. Honecker and his wife were left penniless. None of their former comrades showed the humanitarianism that communists like to boast about. When it seemed as if they would be left as beggars on the street, Pastor Holmer and his wife invited the Honeckers, people who had once treated them badly, to live with them in their home and to eat with them at their table.
When a person is brought to believe in Jesus he begins to think less of himself and more of those around him. Faith, you see, looks to Christ, and then looks around and sees who in the world needs a helping hand. We live in a self-centered world, but the faith God gives us looks away from self.
PRAYER: Dear LORD, I thank you for the gift of saving faith, which, through the Gospel, the Holy Spirit has worked in my heart. Keep me close to Your Word and Sacraments so that my faith may ever be ready to help those in need. Amen.
