Lent is a testing time and also a gracious time of moulding true Christian attitudes that will radiate true faith. And true faith is not reliant upon sensational signs and wonders. It submits to Jesus Christ, His words and deeds.

Faith is crucial in family crises. To whom do parents turn to when all means to heal has been exhausted? Turn to the healer of all afflictions, Christ Jesus. See, Jesus did not need to come down to the court official's house to touch the son and to heal him. The implicit faith of the father in Jesus' and his word is enough. "Go home, your son will live!" Would we have acted like the desperate father, trusting in the words of Jesus?

God's healing is instantaneous for those who believe against all odds. We need to live our faith in practical terms. To leave what is conventional and venture to new tangibles of faith. John the Baptist belonged to the priestly caste yet his ministry was not in the holiest of temples but in the wilderness, preaching words and deeds of repentance. Likewise, Jesus didn't settle in a hermitage to welcome people, He walked the streets and shores, mountains and valleys. Words are powerful if taken in faith. Prophet Isaiah raised the exilic people's hope by changing the imagination of people from gloom and weeping to joy and gladness by his preaching that God's Word recreates anew.