Faith and Fidelity (Luke 7:50)

And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." (Luke 7:50 NASB)

The word translated as "faith" in this verse is pistis. This word is sometimes translated as faith, assurance, or fidelity. Translated as faith, it is used to indicate an absolute, unwavering certainty of something. This woman had the absolute certainty that Jesus was the Messiah and that He had the power to both forgive her sins and set her free from her bondage to sin. She staked her life to that truth. 

This word is also sometimes translated as fidelity. It expresses a sense of solidity and constancy. One who has fidelity is unwavering and solid as a rock. That is the kind of faith the woman with the alabaster vial had in Jesus. She was so certain of her faith in Christ that she was through with wavering, through with being tossed about by her sin and her sinful desires. She was a lost sheep who had been found and she was done with her wandering, finally, permanently done with going astray. 

It is the kind of faith in God we should also have. When we, too, have pistis, we will likewise be done with our straying from Christ. That is not to say we will never sin again, but our wandering and our bent toward that sinful lifestyle will be done. Our love for Christ will supersede our love for this world. 

This kind of faith is born in a desperate weariness of sin and the price it exacts. It is found in the same position this weeping penitent woman assumed. When we, like her, willingly and humbly position ourselves at the feet of Jesus, filled with sorrow for our sin and in overwhelming joy at the love and mercy of God, we, too, can have this kind of faith. 

How does our faith compare to the faith of this woman? Do we have a firm, unwavering assurance that brings freedom and life or are we still clinging to some of the vestiges of our old life?

There is freedom in pistis. Pray today that we and our loved ones would embrace this saving, life-changing faith and be done with wavering and wandering astray. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-terrorist-prayer-list.html