Have a Little Faith

In Luke 17:5, the apostles made a request of the Lord, “Increase our faith!” It is the cry of most Christians. How often have we made that same request? We believe that greater faith would help us be a better Christian. The apostles were no different. It seems the apostles not only wanted to have enough faith for their souls to go to heaven, but they wanted heaven to be brought down to them!

Jesus responded to their request with two thoughts. First, He told them that even the smallest amount of faith does great things. He then went on to tell them that increasing faith is a matter of heart obedience. Let me explain.

When the disciples said to Jesus, “Increase our faith” (v. 5), Jesus answered with a remarkable statement: “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (v. 6). With that statement Jesus was saying that even the smallest faith does great things. He compared their faith to a mustard seed.

The mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds. It is used to develop mustard spice. The thought here is that it is so small it is within your reach. Compare that to the Mulberry tree. It is actually the Black Mulberry tree that is in view here. This tree often lives to be 400 to 600 years old. It grows thirty-five feet tall and has an extensive root system that spreads out forty feet and goes quite deep into the ground making it near to impossible to uproot. He told them that even with that little bit of faith, they could do the impossible, they could uproot a mulberry tree and plant it in the sea!

That is quite a statement! Faith, even when developed only to the size of a tiny mustard seed, is enough! Even that small faith is a great faith; it does great things. That is what Jesus said!

“Faith,” in the original Greek of the New Testament, is a word that can be translated either “faith” or “faithfulness.” It depends on the context. If it refers to “head knowledge” becoming “heart knowledge,” or in other words, “belief,” it is usually translated “faith.” However, when the context refers to “heart attitude” or “heart obedience,” it is usually translated “faithfulness.” The context of Luke 17 is that of “heart obedience” and should be understood as “faithfulness.” And that leads us to Jesus’ second response.

In Luke 17:1-4, Jesus speaks of forgiveness as an attitude of the heart. Note especially verses 3-4: “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Verses 7-10 again speak of “heart obedience” toward God. When you have done all that you are supposed to do, have the attitude as found in verse 10: “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty” (RSV).

When you have “heart obedience” toward God, then you will find that you have drawn near to Him. When you are near to God, He will guide you as to what you should do and how you should pray. Follow His guidance and even that big mulberry tree can be uprooted.

In other words, if you have forsaken all for the sake of Christ and have trusted Him as your Lord and Savior, and you are ready to follow Him and trust Him in everything, then great things will happen. You see, even with faith as small as a mustard seed, when you pray as the Lord leads you to pray, God will do great things in response.

So, have a little faith! Even a little faith goes a long way in God's world. With it you can move mountains, or Mulberry trees, metaphorically speaking, of course. Just remember, faith is not believing that God can, but that God will! Amen.