Key Verse: Luke 7:9 “…I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

Most everyone likes to know what others think of them. And if it were possible, to know what God thinks of them. What most of us know, however, is what we think of ourselves. Generally, when it comes to self-assessment, we’re not too impressed with what we see.

The centurion in this chapter certainly wasn’t stuck on himself. In fact, he didn’t even consider himself worthy to come to Jesus to request healing for his servant. Instead, he clearly sent some of the Jewish elders of Capernaum to present his case to Jesus. These elders had a high view of the centurion–“he loves our nation and has built our synagogue,” they said. So Jesus went with them to the centurion’s house.

But, before He reached the house, some friends of the centurion came to meet Jesus with this message, “Don’t bother yourself with the walk over here. Just say the word and my servant will be healed. After all, my commands are obeyed by my men–why shouldn’t your command be obeyed by the sickness?” Jesus was impressed; so much so that He said, “I have not found such great faith, even in Israel.” This Gentile was putting Jesus’ nation to shame in terms of his faith. His friends returned to the house and found the servant healed.

So the centurion was rather self-deprecating in his view of himself. The elders, on the other hand, were very high on him. And Jesus was impressed with his faith. The point? Simply that your self-assessment may not be entirely accurate. There’s something to be said for giving yourself the benefit of the doubt. After all, God loves you. And He’s a pretty good judge of what’s truly valuable.