In yesterday’s meditation, Jesus perceived the faith of the centurion by what he said. Today, the focus is on what can be seen. There was an expression of faith in the story of the paralytic man. Mark 2 records the story of this man being carried by four other men to where Jesus was holding a kind of house church. Because the house was crowded and there was no access by the doors or through the windows, these men did something ridiculous. They tore off the roof of the house and let down their friend in the crowd. Jesus saw that effort as faith. That first brought forgiveness of sins. Apparently the man brought the curse of this paralysis on himself through a wayward lifestyle. But both the sins and the infirmity were removed by the power of the Lord.

“Our role is to find out what the faith act is and do it.”

We can enter the word of James at this point. James believed that what we say is an expression of faith. But an even greater proof of our faith is what we do. In his consideration, what we do is what gives effect to what we say. He argues that just as the body without the spirit is dead, so is faith unaccompanied by works. Faith is not opposed to efforts. In many cases, it is actually the efforts that we make that back up the faith we profess. For every faith confession, there has to be a corresponding faith action. Our role is to find out what the faith act is and do it. What we do in faith is then reckoned by God as a seed that brings the sweet harvest of our desire. This is how faith life works, and it is because God wants you to be a co-labourer with Him in the affairs of your life.