The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’” Luke 17:5-10
“If I just had more faith….” I think most of us have struggled with that feeling at some point in our lives. If I just had more faith I wouldn’t have so many questions or doubts. If I just had more faith God would answer my prayers. If I just had more faith my family member would not have died. If I just had more faith I would be more involved in the church. If I just had more faith I would be a better person, a better parent, a better spouse. If I just had more faith I would know what to do, I would handle things better. If I just had more faith life would be different... better.
This sort of reflection is an approach to faith at least as old as the apostles’ own faith. It was the approach they had taken when they asked Jesus... “Increase our faith.” Jesus has just warned them not to become stumbling blocks to others and admonished them to forgive an offender as many times as needed, unlimited if necessary. That will be difficult. It will be a challenge to live that way. “Increase our faith,” was their response. It seems like a reasonable request considering the lofty expectations of Jesus. If a little faith is good, then a lot must be better. If McDonald’s can supersize our fries and drink, surely Jesus can supersize our faith.
The request to increase our faith, the belief that if I had more faith things would be different, reveals, at best, a misunderstanding of faith itself and, at worst, demonstrates our own propensity towards unfaithfulness. Jesus is very clear that faithfulness is not about size or quantity. “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed,” he says, “you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
Faith is not given to us in a packet to be spent as currency in our dealings with God. Faith is not measured out according to how difficult the task or work before us. Faith is not a thing we have or get. Faith accrues to us out of a relationship with God based on trust and love.
Faith grows in us from obedience to truth and true doctrine. Faith grows in us based on how strongly we believe what God has instructed for our growth through his Word the Bible. A good analogy to understand the faith relationship with God is that of a married couple’s faithfulness to each other. They are faithful because they have committed themselves to each other in love and trust, through good times and the not so good times. They are faithful because they intentionally give their life to the other and receive the other’s life as their own. They are faithful because they carry with them that one relationship wherever they go, in all that they are and all that they do. So it is in our faith-relationship with God.
Faith will not, however, change the circumstances of our lives. Instead, it changes us and how we look at the circumstances of our life. Living in faith does not shield us from the pain and difficulties of life, it does not undo the past, and it will not guarantee a particular future. Rather, faith is the means by which we face and deal with the circumstances of life – the difficulties and losses, the joys and successes, the opportunities and possibilities. Faith transformed how you look at your life circumstances... sort of like the glass is “half full” or the glass is “half empty.” Faith transforms our attitudes.
Faith does not get us a gold star, a pat on the back, a reward, or a promotion in God’s eyes. It is simply the way in which we live and move and have our being so that, at the end of the day, the faithful ones can say, without pride or shame, “We have done only what we ought to have done!” Nothing more and nothing less. We have lived in openness to, trust in, and love for Christ. We have allowed him to guide our decisions, our words, and our actions... totally, everything we think and do. We have been sustained by him in both life and the prospect of death.
Faith is not lived out in the abstract. It is practiced day after day in ordinary circumstances. Some days when the pain and heaviness of life seem more than we can carry, it is by faith – our relationship with Jesus, the indwelling Holy Spirit – that helps get us moving each day to face the realities of a stressful life. Life is constantly changing. We face new circumstances which are always opportunities to grow our faith based on our resulting view... our attitude. When we feel the pain of the world and respond with compassion by feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, speaking for justice; when we experience the brokenness of a relationship and offer forgiveness and mercy; when we see the downtrodden and offer our presence and prayers — in all these circumstances, through our attitude and actions we are living by the strength of our faith. Then there are days when we feel powerless, lost, and do not know the way forward. It is by our faith that we can find comfort and peace in silence, waiting for the hard times to pass. Remember, God will not allow us to be trampled with more than we can deal with. "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength but with your testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13) Most of us don’t realize how much we can handle, how strong we really are when we trust in God. God knows our limits and our capacities, so the message here is to trust Him when the going in tough and we’re feeling particularly oppressed.
Faith is an attitude... it’s how we live. It’s the lens through which we see ourselves, others, and the world. It’s the criterion by which we act and speak. Faithfulness means that no matter where we go, no matter what circumstances we face we do so in relationship with the One who created, loves, sustains, and redeems us, the One who “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10).
Jesus does not supersize our faith. It is not necessary. We live by faith not because we have enough faith or think we need more for certain challenges... but simply because we trust God totally our faith is powerful and sustaining. Even mustard seed sized faith is all we need. Jesus said that. Trust his words.
So, the question is not how much faith do you have, but how are you living the faith you do have? How is your relationship with Jesus? Is it changing your life, your relationships, and the lives of others?
If it is not, more of the same [faith] will make no difference. Christ gave us a “helper” in the Holy Spirit. “He” is our source of power for living a dynamic life of faith built on trust in all that God has done and says he will yet do. Nothing has been withheld from us.
We do not need more faith. We need more response to the faith, the Christ, the mustard seed, the relationship we already have. Maybe its time for an “attitude” adjustment?
