Two Outsiders Speak, Greatly (Poem)

Four times, God admonishes, ‘By faith, the just shall live!’ ¹

Four times, for having little faith, Jesus chided ‘faith falters’.

Only twice did He find great faith that was impressive.²

Those chided for little faith were… His ministry partners! ³

Those commended for great faith were not even Jewish --

A Canaanite woman and a Roman centurion.

Who would have imagined, and how did their faith flourish??

A peek behind the scenes may enhance your admiration.

She, a possible descendant of those sinful folk,

Whom God had freed ancient Israel from Egypt to destroy! ⁴

He, a small part of a king’s dream that Daniel uncloaked,

A statue of gold, silver, bronze and iron -- the king’s killjoy! ⁵

Toward Jews, both could have easily had contempt,

Since Jews back then regarded Gentiles… unflatteringly.

So from mutual contempt, none was exempt,

Especially the kind bred from… familiarity.

They overcame fear of possible rejection,

Such fear that so easily paralyzes.

Had they not escaped this devilish repression,

They never would have achieved… faith that defies.

Surely they’d had heard of Jesus healing folk across the land.

In hearing, they got seed faith that prompted, ‘Jesus I’ll seek!’

Face-to-face with Him, they spoke their faith, and they

took their stand!

Seed faith technique -- seed faith, when planted, sparks

desire to speak.

Both were motivated by love, compassionate,

On behalf of another soul in desperate need.

Could this be a major great faith prerequisite?

Planted by words, grown by love is all faith seed.⁶

Loving compassion is especially attractive to Jesus!

He knew this would be His role as our Heavenly High Priest.

Compassion, leading to intercession negates selfish bias,
Ramps up the fervency of our faith as it is released!

Both humbled themselves, calling Jesus, Lord,

Recognizing His authority over things unseen,

Help for their loved ones, they were in accord.

Neither had a clue they were talking to The One, Supreme.

By the soldier’s comment on authority, Jesus knew,

This fellow wasn’t locked in the… little faith jail!

But He had to test the woman to help her faith shine through.

Her comment on dogs proved her faith would not fail!

Faith released! Miracle achieved! Both likely testified,

Of their up close and personal encounter, so awed!
Sometime after...

At Christ’s crucifixion, a centurion supervised,

And one soldier gasped, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’⁷

From these two whom Jesus hailed as having such great faith,

What key lessons do they speak to us Christians today?

Review the references, and ponder them… without haste.

Here are my thoughts. I welcome what you will have to say.

1.    Compassion for others acts as a faith turbo boost!

Got a need? Intercede! ⁸

2.    Recognize and resist paralyzing fear that fights against planting seed faith.

3.    Recognize and resist contempt that is still bred from familiarity, with anything, including Scripture and the Christian walk. Avoid being contemptuous toward those who may have contempt for you.

4.    Seed faith, when planted, still sparks initiative to speak, so SAY what you believe, thus planting faith-filled words.

5.    Be timely in planting and growing seed faith. Don’t despise small beginnings.

6.    Recognize and resist heady pride. Remain humble, sincere and worshipful before God.

7.    Ignore your forgiven sinful background, and your descendants.

8.    Watch your word seeds. They reveal your faith, and will not belie your heart.

9.    Testify often and widely of God’s works in your life. A personal prayer log is a great tool.

10. For sure, God still tests hearts and minds to verify and uncloak our faith, our willingness to believe, speak, and then act on what He says. Slow down. Pray to recognize, and to obtain Grace to pass His tests.⁹

For both the Canaanite woman and the Roman centurion,

Jesus’ preceding reputation, their selfless petitions,

and His affirming Word, were sufficient to yield

 immediate harvests from the seed faith they had planted.

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¹ Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:28

² Matthew 8:5-10, Luke 7:1-10 and Matthew 15:22-28

³ Matthew 6:30, 8:26, 14:31 and 16:8

⁴ Genesis 15:16, Exodus 3:8 and Joshua 1:4

⁵ The Roman Empire under which Jesus became a mortal man, was represented by the iron parts of the statue mentioned in Daniel 2. See also: Europe: Iron-Clay Mix (Poem) and search this blog for references to Daniel 2 for much more on this prescient chapter.

⁶ Faith speaks (Romans 10:6), and works by love (Galatians 5:6)

⁷ Matthew 27:54

⁸ See Putting a Face on Faith

⁹Jeremiah 11:20, 17:10, 20:12, Deuteronomy 8:2, 1 Chronicles 29:17, Proverbs 17:3