Who Are Your Faith Heroes?

Did you ever wonder about certain people in the Bible?

Recently, I found myself pondering Jairus in Luke 8:40-56. I am not a theologian or deep-thinking biblical scholar. I’m simply sharing what came to mind while meditating on this scripture: Jairus is a man of strong faith.

Think about it. Here is a leader of the synagogue, a position of stature and authority. His daughter is dying and he turns to Jesus, an iterant preacher with a following of the rabble, a man opposed by the Jewish leadership. Jairus not only turns to Jesus, he goes himself, risking censure and the loss of his position. He doesn’t send a servant with a secret message. He boldly steps out and falls at Jesus feet—in public—and pleads with him to come heal his daughter. And Jesus agrees to go.

But wait. There’s an interruption. The woman with the issue of blood worms her way through the crowd and touches Jesus’ cloak and is immediately healed. Jesus stops to deal with this. And she proceeds to tell him about her condition. All the doctors, all the treatments that exhausted her finances. I can picture this woman. This isn’t a Polaroid snapshot description of her travails. She tells him every stinking detail of what she experienced. And she had this condition for twelve years. Think an annotated edition of Lord of the Rings.

And what does Jairus do? He stands there, not saying a word, waiting on Jesus. What faith.

He’s a leader of the synagogue, he knows who this woman is. He could have her arrested for violating Jewish law. But he stands quietly and lets her talk. I put myself in his place and I imagine her droning on and on. My patience is draining away as she rambles. I just want her to shut up. My daughter is dying, for crying out loud.

I think he waits quietly because he dare not disrupt the anointing power that is working through Jesus. His faith in that anointing and in Jesus keeps him still and patient.

Then the news comes that his daughter is dead. Before he can say anything, Jesus says to him, “Fear not. Have faith. She will be healed.” Stand on your faith, Jairus. Don’t be afraid. Don’t speak words of doubt or impatience. Believe in Me and your daughter will be healed.

To me, Jairus is a faith hero. He stated his belief that Jesus would heal his daughter and didn’t budge, no matter what.

Who are your faith heroes in the Bible?

9 Responses to Who Are Your Faith Heroes?

  1. jude urbanski March 14, 2012 at 4:08 pm #

    Liked this post and have always valued the story of Jarius myself. Two other heroes of mine, and they are many-even heroines too- are David and Daniel. David was so human and yet obedient. Daniel was so honorable, yet obedient, also. Nice blog!

  2. Henry March 14, 2012 at 10:49 pm #

    Thank you, Jude. I think a lot of us can relate to David because of his humanity and we learn from his obedience. And Daniel shows us how to be men (and women) of honor and obedience to the Lord.

  3. Ruth Tredway March 15, 2012 at 3:57 pm #

    Thanks for the insight, Henry. One of my Bible heroes is Joseph, because he understood without having to prove anything, that God was with him in all the places and situations he experienced, and he was finally able to say that God had worked it all for good.

  4. Henry March 15, 2012 at 10:08 pm #

    Ruth,
    Thanks for stopping by and sharing. To me, Joseph is a great example of faithfulness and obedience. He never doubted or waivered from God’s vision despite all the hardships he faced.

  5. Joshua March 16, 2012 at 10:29 am #

    In Jarius, we see that faith means to keep trusting God and wait till He answers. hmmmn, how often we fall short of that virtue – patience. And you know the Bible says for the trial of our faith worketh patience, and after our patience is complete, we will be perfect n entire, wanting nothing.
    May God help us.

  6. Sally Smith March 17, 2012 at 2:34 pm #

    Thanks, Henry. I would like to mention Nehemiah – not just for the faith to build a wall, but for his example. He was asked by the king why he was sad and before answering he prayed. That’s an example I think of often.

  7. Henry March 17, 2012 at 3:29 pm #

    Thank you, Sally. The Bible is full of men and women of faith. People with flaws, yet people who show us the blessings and power of walking in faith and obedience.

  8. Julie Marx March 17, 2012 at 4:19 pm #

    Great insight, Henry.
    Moses is my faith hero. He was genuine before God. He loved his people and stood in the gap for them–even when they offended him. He’s the kind of leader I like to follow.

  9. Henry March 17, 2012 at 8:49 pm #

    Amen, Julie.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *