My father was a man of his word and a man of God’s Word. If dad made a promise, he kept it. If God made a promise in Scripture, dad believed and lived through faith in its reality.
“Looking out for number 1” is common today, so keeping personal promises and taking God at His Word seems foolish to many, but it is essential to the Christian life.
John 4:43-54 tells the story of Jesus’s interaction with a royal official who traveled from Capernum to Galilee specifically to beg the Lord for a miracle. The man’s son lay dying at home, and this determined father had heard stories of the Teacher who turned water into wine and preached about the Kingdom of God. Surely Jesus could help his son!
Only days before this, Jesus had spoken to the Samaritan woman, living and teaching in her small town of Sychar. Without the benefit of miracles, many villagers believed the message of God’s Love as they watched the Messiah share their daily lives.
The status of the Roman official allowed him to hear all the local gossip, including tales from Jesus’ miracle at the wedding in Cana and His cleansing of greedy merchants from the Temple. This Jewish Teacher not only spoke the Word of God, He honored it in His daily life.
The desperate father begged Jesus to accompany him on the journey home, yet Jesus seemed to ignore his request. “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you do not believe,” He chided. Turning to the beseeching man, Jesus said, “Go. Your son will live.”
Without further pleas or explanations, “the man believed what Jesus said…and departed (John 4:50).” Rather than demanding proof of Jesus’ power, the official left for home, confident that the promise made would be fulfilled. The ensuing miracle led not only the official but his entire family to believe in Jesus as Savior.
Our faith in God must be accompanied by actively taking Him at His Word. Believe what He said and act upon it. He will always be a Man of His Word.
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