My Favorite Verses - Vol V (Feb 17 to Jun 17)

Matthew 8:13 … Done according to Faith
(05/30/2017)
“Go; let it be done for you according to your Faith.”
~ Jesus (Matthew 8:13)
While most readers (and almost all theologians) focus on the last word of this
verse, the most important word therein is actually its first – “Go.” For Jesus did
not say that all would be done according to the centurion‟s mere mental “faith” (or
his intellectual beliefs, or even his verbal exclamations) in this scene from the Gospel
of Matthew, but rather that he must “Go” and thereby manifest the same – that he
must act in order to be truly Faith-full – that he must (as the Quakers are so fond of
saying) “pray with moving feet.”
Indeed, there can be no doubt that “Go” is a command that requires action;
and when we look closely & humbly upon the teachings & the ministry of Jesus
Christ, there can be no doubt that both “Faith” & “Belief” for Jesus were active
verbs much more than they were passive states of being … Indeed (in Deed!),
when we look to the many “healings” & “miracles” that Jesus performed
throughout the Gospels, we can see a pattern steadily developing – a pattern that
had him proclaiming over & over & over again that mere mental “faith” was not
enough; that action is required in order to bring real Faith to life (and bring any
subsequent healings to bear – see Matthew 8:10-13, Matthew 9:2, Matthew 9:22,
Matthew 9:28-30, Matthew 13:58, Matthew 14:31, Matthew 15:28, Matthew 17:20,
Mathew 21:21, Mark 2:5, Mark 5:34, Mark 9:23, Mark 10:52, Mark 11:22, Luke 5:20,
Luke 7:9, Luke 7:50, Luke 8:48, Luke 17:6, Luke 17:18-19, & Luke 18:42 et al) and that
“Belief” for Jesus was an act as well (see John 14:12 & John 14:23-26 in direct
conjunction Mark 10:18, John 5:41, Matthew 18:3-4, John 3:36, John 3:18, John 6:29,
John 7:38, Mark 16:16 & John 13:15-17 et al).
And when we apply this Truth to this particular verse, several extremely
important implications come to light – namely the following: A) that Jesus did not
heal or save anyone – indeed that we are all capable of healing ourselves by
actively & humbly bringing Peace &/or Joy to others (see Matthew 20:28 + John
13:15-17 et al) … B) that we all carry both God & Heaven within us, and as such
are the source of our own salvation (see John 14:20 & Luke 17:20-21 et al) … C) that
we can all Love just as purely & just as courageously as Jesus did (see Matthew
22:37-40 & John 14:12 et al) … and D) that Loving perfectly (i.e. Loving the shunned,
Loving the downtrodden, Loving the stranger, and Loving the enemy -- all as though they
were members of one‟s own Family) heals completely & manifests fully.
Amen ... Let it be so.
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