Pragmatic spirit, critical mind

From Your Unfinished Business: Find God in Your Circumstances, Serve Others in Theirs (paperback, Kindle) We want to be able to discern pragmatically, so let's mimic the mind of the centurion in the New Testament who sought help for his ailing servant from Jesus Christ. This man, responsible for one hundred Roman soldiers, certainly worked long hours, paying his soldiers on time, training them well in their profession, and properly equipping them for missions given them by the Empire. In his years of campaigning, he probably developed a pragmatic and critical attitude. He was certainly pragmatic, the Biblical account crediting him with building a synagogue for the Jews in his geographic area of responsibility. This act suggested at the very least a practical sensitivity to the local culture and the need for occupying forces to be on good terms with the inhabitants.

He could think critically. Having seen different cultures and encountered diverse philosophies and religions, he would certainly probe for authenticity, closely examining truth claims by others. So when he sent representatives to Jesus, seeking Jesus’s help in healing an ailing servant, it’s not surprising he told Jesus, “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it” (Luke 7:7–8). He understood if Jesus were the real thing, there would be no need for the incantations and rituals he saw in the other cultures and religions he encountered.

Such incantations and rituals were designed to call down supernatural power, but if this Jesus were whom He claimed to be, He could heal the servant with a word. By giving such a command, Jesus, far from calling down supernatural power, would prove to be supernatural power itself. That centurion’s background, therefore, prepared him to understand the significance of Jesus’ claims and act on that knowledge.

Hmmm. Wasn't expecting that a pragmatic spirit and critical mind would lead to faith.

We’re like that Roman centurion. Whether student, professional, homemaker, or tradesperson, we’re faced with the same daily challenge of integrating faith with daily life. Like that centurion, we don’t spend time pondering theory in an ivory tower or avoiding the world on a desert island. Instead, our circumstances daily call us to examine whether faith is truly showing up in daily living, and our backgrounds cause us to look for those answers with the same pragmatic and critical mind as that centurion.