This essay continues a sequence. Read the previous one here.
And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
The centurion answered and said,
Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof:
but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man,
Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
When Jesus heard it, he marvelled,
and said to them that followed,
Verily I say unto you,
I have not found so great faith,
no, not in Israel.
And I say unto you,
That many shall come from the east and west,
and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
— KJV, Matt 8:5-12
No organisation “owns” faith.
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We explored the nature of faith in the series of essays from “11. Act To Experience To Know” to “15. False Faiths, Part 2“, and established that genuine faith stimulates loving activity.
Matt 8:5 encourages us to investigate further.
What is Faith?
What are the elements of true faith demonstrated by the centurion?
- “I am not worthy“: He was humble, and not making a demand veiled as a request (ref. “Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit“). He knew that a human being is nothing before Christ;
- “[T]hat thou shouldest come under my roof“: His perspective was spiritual, not physical (ref. “The Word Is Christ, Not Jesus“);
- “For I am a man under authority“: He perceived that there is a way Creation works, a cosmic structure (ref. “What Is Truth?“);
- “Speak the word only“: He understood that The Word is living and powerful (ref. “What Is The Word?: The Basics“);
- The Power of Love: His request was motivated by love for his servant (ref. “Mercy Is Not Random“, “Love: A Certified Spiritual Seed“);
True Faith Is Human. Not Religious.
[M]any shall come from the east and west
This, like almost everything Christ said, is meant spiritually. Obeying Christ’s Call and accessing the Kingdom of Heaven is not conditioned upon membership of any group or religion (ref. “Christ Is Not The Founder of Christianity“).
We do not expect the laws of gravity, for example, to act in a way that is dependent on our religious beliefs. So we should not expect such of the Laws of Creation, which are unified with The Word, and of which the force of gravity and similar phenomena are a material part-manifestation (ref. “Creating Is Perpetual“).
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Faith expressed visibly in selfless love is the key. Any teaching that does not help us attain to this is not in alignment with The Word and will fail us.
The Word came to Earth to reveal this and to show us how to achieve it. It is a process, not an event (ref. “Born Again, Born Anew: Process or Event“).
This process cannot be separated from the search for knowledge about the Laws of Creation, which are themselves based on Divine Love (ref. “Will vs Love: A Divine Quantum Entanglement“).
It cannot be separated because any human being serious about living in love will seek to understand how to change his life accordingly, and this is impossible unless he understands how things are supposed to be, which is only revealed through understanding of the Laws of Creation (ref. “Letter Of The Law“), which are revealed in The Word.
The True Church
Upon this rock I will build my church
— Matt 16:18
That true faith is not religious implies that the actual concept of “Church” has little to do with an earthly organisation.
This was explored in detail in “Christ Is Not The Founder of Christianity“, to which the reader may refer.
Today’s Resolution:
- Our faith grows in selfless love. We pray for the strength and courage to live accordingly, so as to gain experiences that will allow us to truly understand The Word.
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