Our Lord Christ places many expectations upon His followers. In the larger section of Luke 17:1-10, He talks about certain attitudes He expects from us; and in verses 5-6 He talks about our attitude about our faith.
Luke 17:5–6 ESV “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.”
Stop Asking For More Faith
The Apostles begin with a very good request of the Lord Jesus Christ. They ask for more faith realizing that it is really He who can and does give more faith. Jesus’ answer is not what they, or we, would have expected.
Basically, Jesus tells them that the presence of true faith is more important than its quantity. The image of the mustard seed faith is a proverbial way of referring to something very small. Such a small amount of faith can indeed accomplish amazing things, so “Go use your faith and do something extraordinary for the Kingdom!”
For example black mulberry trees grow to be 35 feet tall, can live up to 600 years, and develop very deep root systems. Hey, why don’t you go uproot such a tree--that would be quite a feat! Jesus makes it sound like such trees are just sitting around waiting to obey someone with the faith to tell them to get up and go jump in the sea to their own destruction.
Why would we want to do such a strange thing with our Christian faith?! That is exactly the point--to go do something startling and difficult with our faith, exceeding the ordinary expectations of the world and the Church!
Start Doing More With Your Faith
You surely have experienced this at some time in your Christian walk--when you stepped out in faith to attempt something great for God. Maybe it was just confronting someone in sin, or forgiving them, as mentioned by Luke right before this in verses 1-4.
For many of us, it might have been on a mission trip or during a community outreach, when we were stretched beyond our comfort zone. Use your own life example for yourself. Surely you have one story by which to be encouraged.
The application is glaringly obvious: to do amazing things, not normal things, with the faith you have been given. God doesn’t give us His faith just so that we can live a happy comfortable life in glorious normality!
Don’t Just Pray, Really Pray . . . Do Something!
So, how do we pray for the ministries of our churches, and for one another? What are we asking for--just normal things or truly amazing things? And how do we pray for our missionaries? What are we asking for--just normal things or truly amazing things?
A little faith can be highly potent, if it is developed through a lifestyle of prayer and use. If you want more faith, you must exercise the faith you have. This is how faith grows, not just by sitting around, thinking about it and asking for more of it. Ask for the glory of God, and then act accordingly with faith, for His glory in all things.
Life and ministry are meant to be experienced as a faith adventure with God. Would you be a missional church that takes great risks, without fear of failure, for the advancement of the fame of Jesus Christ? Would you commit to being a missional Christian who thrives upon the vision of the glory of God among all peoples and their full enjoyment of Him?
We must use the faith we have for doing amazing things. We develop the faith expected of us by using the faith we have. Have you been asking for more faith, but not really using what you have? Where might the Spirit be pushing you to trust Christ and be more bold . . . and rip out some mulberry trees?
Exercise your faith, with an attitude!
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