During last Friday night's Bible study class with high school girls, I was asked by one of the girls why we don't have faith that can move a mountain, when Jesus said that "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20). I could not give a good answer, because I myself did not have the faith that can move a mountain. All I could say was that even though my faith (or our faith) is very weak, we can have confidence in how faithful our Lord is in keeping all His promises. Whatever He has promised to us, we can believe that He will keep it. Though we are weak, He is still strong and faithful.
Afterwards I felt challenged by the question all week. I thought about why I don't have faith as small as a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds. I prayed earnestly, seeking to have that faith.
The answer to my prayer came through two people. During a family worship service, my wife chose to read from Hebrews 4:2: "For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith." While faith comes, as a gift (Ephesians 2:8), from hearing the message in the word of Christ (Romans 10:17), what one hears is of no value, unless one hears it with faith. When I hear the word of God, I must believe that He exists and rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). I must believe in the word and the One who spoke the word. Then my faith will grow.
But that is not all. During Wednesday's worship service at the church, the pastor read from Luke 17:6, again about faith as small as a mustard seed. The pastor read this verse in the context of what immediately followed it. In the trailing verses of Luke 17:7-10, Jesus talked about servants who dutifully do everything the master is asking them to do and humbly say, "We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty." Faith that can move a mountain comes from humble obedience. On hearing the word of God, we must accept it with faith and then obey to follow the command. The word of God is our law, our statutes, our precepts, our commands, our ordinances, and evidence of our fear of the Lord (Psalm 19:7-9), so we must obey it.
As Jesus told in one of His parables, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." (Matthew 13:31-32). Though my faith may be the smallest of all, when I accept the word of God with faith and obey it, my faith will grow to be like a large tree. Accepting Christ as my Lord and King (i.e., the kingdom of heaven) is a continually growing process that I think takes spiritual and godly training (I Timothy 4:8) in obedience.
Lord, I am but an unworthy servant. Help me believe and, in believing, obey Your words. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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An addendum note:
ReplyDeleteWhen Jesus came down from the mountain of Transfiguration, He met a man who brought a son possessed by an evil spirit and afflicted with muteness and seizures. The boy could not be healed by the disciples waiting below. By rebuking the deaf and mute spirit to come out of the boy, Jesus healed him and made him whole. Later the disciples asked Jesus in private why they could not heal him. Jesus replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer (and fasting)." (Mark 9:14-30). In addition to what is mentioned above, the last secret to having a faith that can move a mountain and perform miracles is prayer. Prayer is, I think, like an energizer, a vitamin that strengthens and enables faith.