“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
Luke 17:5-6
This verse is always convicting to me. At its face, it’s an incredible image of God’s power, and the power that we have through faith in him. Deeper, it is a commentary on our own lack of faith. That’s the part that convicts me.
The verse starts with the apostles asking Jesus to increase their faith. To me, it seems crazy that the people who have been walking around with him and watching him do miracle after miracle would need any more reason to have faith. They got to see so many wonderful things that Jesus did and they got to hear him preach firsthand. How I would love to have that experience. How great would my faith be then?
But then I realize, I have everything that they did and more. I have the full story of Jesus’ life right here in my bible. Not only that, but I have the story of the early Church. And I have the instructions and writings of several of Jesus’ own apostles. I have so much myself, yet I find myself in the place of these disciples asking for more faith.
You see, if we believed it, we could make a mountain move. We could make a tree get up and move to the ocean. We could even die and come back to life forever in heaven with God. Why is it that the first two seem so crazy but the second is just expected?
No, we don’t need to move a mountain or command a tree to jump into the sea, but we desperately need God to save us and allow us to join with Jesus in the resurrection of the dead. Only one thing is required for that, and it’s the same as the first two: just a mustard seed of faith.
Prayer:
Father,
Help me to believe. Cast away my doubts and assure me of my faith. Help me to believe most of all that Jesus has offered me salvation, and never let me falter in that faith.
In His Name,
Amen.
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