“The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” So Jesus went with them.””
(Luke 7:4-6NIV)
From what we know in Scriptures, most of the elders of the Jews hated Jesus because of His stand for righteousness and also because of His claim that He was the Son of God. Nevertheless, as we see in our opening text, there was a time when some of them were willing to put their hatred and bitterness towards Him aside and plead with Him to follow them to heal someone’s servant. And why? Based on their own words, it was because of the man’s love for their nation and religion. In other words, they could tell that he loved them and also cared about what they cared about. That was, in fact, why, as one man, he built a synagogue for them.
So, when his servant, whom he highly valued, became sick to the point of death and he talked to them about helping him to ask Jesus to come and heal him, they did not hesitate to come. More so, they did not come to Him to speak casually about it; instead, they came and pleaded earnestly with Him that He would do something about it. And as Luke points out in the text, the Lord went with them and, even though He eventually did not get to the man’s house, healed the sick servant.
What does this teach us? It teaches us that our generosity can cause people to go on their knees to beg even their enemies for us in our moment of need or adversity. Beyond that, it can inspire them to stand before God as intercessors for us, if we ever come to the end of ourselves.
For example, consider the case of Dorcas that is reported in the book of Acts. This woman, as the record shows, was always doing good and helping the poor. And when she became sick and died, the believers around her would not readily accept her death. Why? It was because they were going to seriously miss her generosity. So, when they learnt that Apostle Peter was visiting in a nearby town, they quickly sent messengers to urge him to come to them at once. Their thought must have been, “Perhaps, God would listen to Peter’s prayer on our behalf and use him to restore this woman back to us.”
Thankfully, Peter did not hesitate to come; he did not consider himself too big to be summoned by some nameless believers. He went and met with these brethren. And when he got there, what he saw must have moved him greatly, for all the widows in that church gathered round him, crying and showing him some samples of Dorcas’ generosity to them while she was still alive. So, without wasting time, having put everybody out of the room where the woman had been laid, he got on his knees to pray to God. Exactly what he said to God about the matter we are not told. But it worked, for Dorcas was restored to life and given more years to continue her life of generosity. (Cf. Acts 9:36-41)
Now what if Dorcas had not been a generous woman? Would the disciples have been moved as they were moved to send for Peter to come and pray for her? I don’t think so. There definitely must have been other disciples that died in that city before Dorcas. And people would have wept for them too. But Dorcas’ case was different. Her generosity would not allow the brethren to let her go and be with the Lord just like that. Instead, it moved them to summon an intercessor for her.
So, it is not only God that our generosity can move; it can also move people to rise and fight our battles for us. And who knows exactly when we will need this and how seriously we will need it when we do need it? Therefore, let us give ourselves to generosity without grumbling or fainting, as we are instructed in Scriptures. And at the right time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Cf. Rom 12:13; Gal 6:9-10; 1Pet 4:9)
Copyright © 2020, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com / alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)
By: J.O. Lawal | Date: August 19, 2020 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 3, No. 14