Friday: 7th December, 2018
Reference text: Matthew 9:21-28
Matthew 9:28 When He went into the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe [with a deep, abiding trust] that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”(AMP)
In the Catholic Church, when a couple stand before the altar to profess commitment to one another in Holy matrimony, one is definitely going to hear these two responses: ‘I WILL’ and ‘I DO’. Those are words that sound simple to say and also easy to remember. However, the actual weight they carry, is not one to be taken for granted. In the context of vows, they signify a clear conviction that ‘this is the decision I have made, and I intend to remain true to it’.
Jesus poses a question to the two blind men who called after Him in the Gospel: ‘Do you believe I am able to do this?’ To which their response was ‘Yes, Lord.’ If we opt for paraphrasing, their response can be rendered: ‘We do’. The amplified version asks the same question with an additional descriptor of the kind of believe Jesus was requesting: ‘do you believe, with deep abiding trust, that I am able to do this’ and the response remained unchanged, ‘We do’.
We could say for these men, their conviction may have been set on the fact that they wanted to see and for that, they were willing to do anything. However, God sees through the depths of the heart- even when unexpressed, he sees the intentions of our hearts. Hence, He knew their response was not a cry of desperation nor lip service, but a true expression of faith.
My dear, the words ‘I DO’, carry weight in whatever context it is used, especially if they are an affirmation of one’s conviction regarding a specific matter. God desires that we develop a clear conviction about who He is and what He is able to do for us, in us and with us. A deep-rooted and abiding trust which will prompt us to say: ‘Yes Lord, we believe you are able to do’
Remember # like Saint Paul, let our prayer be ‘for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day’ (2 Tim 1:12).
#sly
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