This concludes the series Elements of Faith. We have seen the various pathways of trust people have taken in response to who Jesus is. Now, let’s challenge ourselves to respond to Jesus in a way that parallels the faith expressed by one sinful woman. From her story we can know that Jesus forgives us when we express our love for him from our hearts.
In the beginning of Luke’s gospel, John the Baptist proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. Now, John has a question. Of all the lessons in this series on faith, today’s may be the most penetrating. What happens when our faith in Jesus does not produce what we expect? Today we consider steps of wisdom to follow when we are confused about how God is working.
Our faith may grow directly out of our understanding who God is. In today’s account, Jesus acted out of a heartfelt compassion which reflects His divine nature. The demonstration of power over death was birthed through Jesus' compassion toward a needy widow. In seeing His response to her need, we will see that through great mercy God has done the same for us.
We have learned about Jesus through our study of Luke – who he is, what he did, how he lived and what he taught. Now, Luke draws our attention to how people responded to him. Our series begins by focusing on a surprising figure who comes to faith in Jesus through a conflict larger than he can handle on his own. The example of his faith response is great enough to challenge our own position of faith.