mustard seed faith

(Written by Vickie)

The Word for today: Matthew 17:14-27

mark these verses: Matthew 17:19-20
Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out!" He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, 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."

The disciples had failed. Jesus sent them out, as trainees under his divine mentorship. They were apprenticed to learn Kingdom work. To point people to Jesus through miracles and signs. So how embarrassing is this--one of your attempts to bring healing through the casting out of demons falls flat! Even before you get to the end of the day debrief with Jesus your failure is revealed before a whole crowd of onlookers. Ughhhhh.

So they ask Jesus, "Why did we fail?" Jesus answers them, "Because your faith is small." These men had faith, they followed Jesus and they confessed Jesus as Messiah and Lord. Still Jesus points to their little faith. This not the first time either; check out Matthew 16:8.

Jesus' lessons in faith are hard. But He is patient with us. Psalm 103:14 "...for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust." Jesus wants to pass along to his disciples an awareness of their own limited perspective. He says, "I tell you the truth." He always does. Jesus came down from glory--he knows our minds cannot grasp the majesty of that glory or the scope of His Kingdom.

His preparation for his disciples then and now is by faith. For the Kingdom work He invites us to do with Him we need that heavenly perspective. Through faith's glasses we see the reality that eternity is now, for followers of Jesus. We need faith to share the gospel. We need faith for boldness to speak of eternity, sin and judgement. We need faith to love people the way our Father in heaven loves us.

Jesus did not point at the disciple's failure to disqualify them from Kingdom work. He was calling them to embrace the reality of a Kingdom and God bigger than their imagination. He was calling them out to participate in it's scope and splendor. He's calling us.

"If you have faith as small as mustard seed...Nothing will be impossible for you."

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