Luke 17:6

And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Luke 17:6

Faith like a grain of a mustard seed. I love this analogy because a mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds, and yet Jesus said that we only need faith like a grain of a mustard seed to do extraordinary things. To me, this is a wonderful reminder of how intimately Jesus knows His children. He knows how doubtful we often are, and how for some strange reason faith seems to be hard for us. Indeed, there are so many times when I feel I must do more and try harder, and I forget that my life is to be one of faith, not one of works. To be sure, our good works are a fruit of our faith, but never the reverse. A verse that I need to be reminded of often is Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.”  All too often I find myself going about my day, thinking of everything I have to do, and as a result I am focused on my works and not on Jesus. I want to please Jesus each and every day, and to do this I must live by faith, because nothing I do apart from my faith in Him could ever bring Him pleasure.

Our faith needs to be in Jesus, not in faith itself. Jesus is the object of our faith. Faith itself doesn’t move mountains, heal the sick, or cause the hardened heart to soften – Jesus is the only One who is able. Jesus simply asks that we would have faith in Him to do these things. I believe that one reason Jesus wants us to have faith is simply because He wants us. In order for us to have faith in Him, we must first know Him. As my youth pastor once said, “It’s hard to trust someone you don’t know.” He said this speaking of our relationship with Jesus, and how if we want to really trust Him, we have to really know Him.

How thankful I am that Jesus beckons me to know and trust Him more and more each day! How thankful I am that it doesn’t take an extraordinary amount of faith, but simply a childlike faith. I can come to Him as my Heavenly Father and know that even though I am so faithless, He remains faithful. (2 Timothy 2:13) How thankful I am that He is so faithful to hear the desperate cry of my heart: “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

Application: I will ask the Lord to help me have a childlike faith, and to remember that my faith is in Him alone.