“It’s not dying for faith that’s so hard, it’s living up to it.” William Makepeace Thackeray seems to have captured the essence of being a believer. We believe because we are alive, not dead. Belief is useless for the dead. As a believer, as Christians at that, we are called to live up with this faith, for now, and then eventually to die for this Christian faith later on.

It’s very hard to live up with our faith because  as humans as we are, we look for something tangible, something sensible, something that we can hold on to as “real”. Our faith however, is spiritual, and we could not be so certain about it, as to how much faith we really have in Jesus, the Christ, it goes beyond human measurement.

Our gospel today presents this attitude of looking for something sensible and tangible.  The official asked Jesus to come with him to his home and to cure his ailing son. But his faith has somehow convinced Jesus to do meet his need, his need of healing (of himself and of his son).

To live up with our faith is to accept that even in our deepest sorrow, God is there. To live up with our faith is to believe that even if the cloud is so thick and heavy, there is still a clear blue sky over it, and that this thick cloud will eventually pass by, and everything will be clear again.

SO let’s examine our faith in Jesus today. Do we really believe that Jesus can do something for us, in us and through us, in spite of our littleness, unworthiness, or selfishness at times?