Matthew 8:5-13
Many
years ago (it seems like a lifetime now), I was a certified basketball
official. You know, the guys in the striped shirts who are blind that you love
to yell at. My authority was given to me when I passed the exam and was given a
patch to wear on my shirt.
The
centurion knew how authority worked. There was a chain of command. His superior
gave him an order and with that order the authority to carry it out. In turn, the
centurion gave the order to those who were under his authority. And with that
order, they had the authority to carry it out. The order was carried down the
line of authority.
The
Bible says that Jesus spoke with authority unlike the Pharisees and teachers of
the law who just gave their opinion. He healed with authority by touching
people and being touched. He performed miracles just by speaking. His authority
came from somewhere and the centurion recognized its source as God.
Did
Jesus have that authority because of who he was, or whom he belonged to? The
answer is yes to both. He was the Son of God and he belonged to God his Father.
In the same way, we are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. It is who we
are in Christ and who we belong to.
Jesus
was obedient to who he was and who he belonged to. He could have said, ‘No. I’m
not going through all of that’, but instead he obeyed. He accepted his
“calling”, if you will, and the authority that went with it.
In
a similar way we have been called. God is calling you to ministry. It might be
at your place of work or home or neighborhood or church, but God has called you
and given you the gifts, resources and authority to complete your ministry.
When
I was a referee there’s no doubt that I missed some calls. Ok, maybe there were
a lot of missed calls. But the fact is that I was responsible to referee the
game and had the authority to complete it. Don’t miss your call to ministry
which comes with the authority to complete it.
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