Bold Faith

Luke 5:12-26

As Jesus continued to preach and teach in various villages and cities the crowds got bigger and more demanding. Jesus would after all heal people, perform miracles, and teach with authority, so it was no surprise that people flocked to him. People had never seen anything like Jesus before and some were beginning to wonder if he was indeed the promised messiah.  Because of the number of people requesting his help, Jesus could help some people and but everyone. The choices he made of who to heal were not haphazard but revealed a pattern. Jesus most often chose to heal people who had bold faith.

When the leper saw Jesus, he fell down before him and said: "if you want to you can cleanse me." (5:12) The man believed Jesus could heal him, was bold in asking, and he was healed.  In our same passage four men bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus for healing. Because so many people were lined up to receive Jesus' help they could not get through the front door. Instead they climbed onto the roof, tore the roof open, and lowered their friend to Jesus. The scriptures say: "Impressed by their bold belief, he said 'friend, I forgive your sins." (5:20)  It was the boldness of their faith that impressed Jesus enough to heal their friend.

For us then, the question to consider is whether we have the kind of bold faith seen in these stories. Do you believe Jesus can heal you? Do you believe that a life of following Jesus will transform you? These scriptures suggest that there is a direct connection between faith and healing. When our hearts are full of faith we are more likely to experience healing. Conversely, when our hearts are full of doubt we cannot experience healing and transformation.

When we are struggling physically, emotionally, or spiritually we need to take our concerns to God with boldness and trust that God can heal us.  This story also suggests that we can have bold faith on behalf of others. It was the faith of the friends that inspired Jesus to heal the paralyzed man. Sometimes we ourselves lose our faith or trust and we need others to be strong for us. When others pray for us it is a gift and when we can pray for others with boldness it can make all the difference.