Go... Come... Do... but First Be

On one occasion, Jesus met a centurion (a Roman army officer in charge of 100 men) whose servant was suffering from paralysis. He asked Jesus for help. Jesus was willing to go with the man, but he humbly refused:
Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, “Go,” and he goes; and that one, “Come,” and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it” (Matthew 8.8-9).

Like this Roman officer, each one of us can say, “I myself am a man under authority…” We, as Christians, have been given authority to act on behalf of the Kingdom and to accomplish the purposes of the Kingdom (healing, delivery, cleansing). The trouble is that we cannot do it alone or on our own. We need to hear Kingdom wisdom in the words of the centurion: “Go… Come… Do…” It is our privilege to:

• Go where he says…
• Come to him…
• Do his will…

But all this is preceded by:

• Be (I myself am…)
  

Let’s keep the order right. First, let us be right; then we can do right. How can we be right? We must place ourselves under his authority. Everything else flows from that.