Do you like guaranteed results? Do you want to expect with certainty that other people will perform as they promise and hold yourself to the same standard? How well do you find that this works for others, and for yourself? You can only do what you can do, and the rest is out of your hands. Even if you do everything that you intend, there are factors beyond your control. Realize this and be gentle with yourself. I said that the poor in spirit were blessed leaving you to wonder what it meant to be poor in spirit. This is an aspect of it. Obey what I give you to obey realizing that the outcome is in my hands, and know that this principle applies to everyone. 

I commended a Centurion who approached me for his great faith, but you can tell by inference that the story didn’t start there. He came on behalf of his servant rather than for himself or his immediate family, indicating that he had compassion and saw the man as more than an economic resource. He further demonstrated humility to come to me in person to place his request, crossing lines of culture, religion, status, and wealth. All of this happened before he recognized that I could heal at a distance. Faith and virtue rarely occur in isolation. If you want to see great acts of faith practice those qualities that precede them. 

My word tells you to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. What do you make of this? Do you understand this to mean that your salvation is in doubt, and that you must secure it by your own efforts? Yet you are saved by grace through faith, not of your own works. If you approach this verse with the premise that your salvation is not up for grabs, then what does it mean? Don’t settle for mundane vision and lead a mundane life. You have entered an eternal drama and your words and actions have consequences that will echo forever. You should be awestruck at the part you are called to play. 

Have you become so familiar with the Bible that you can read it on autopilot, without engaging the story? Familiarity breeds complacency, and causes things that are shocking to lose their impact. Consider the story of the Centurion with the sick servant. I offered to come and heal the man but the Centurion said that was not necessary since he was confident that I could heal at a distance. I healed the servant and marveled that I had not seen so great a faith in Israel. What would be a modern day equivalent? Can you imagine Billy Graham addressing a stadium full of Christians and saying how could it be that this Moslem has greater faith than any Christian I have met? Does that bring the point home?