A Curio & what's in it 🙂 Increase our faith

 Luke 17:5

"The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!"

There we find the disciples asking Jesus to increase their faith.

And Jesus surprised them by telling them that even small faith would enable them to do great things and He used the mustard seed as an example.

Now, just before they asked Jesus for more faith… in vs. 1-4, Jesus had warned them not to become stumbling blocks to others instructing them to forgive as often as an offender repents even if it is seven times in one day.

That’s when His disciples said, “Increase our faith.” 

It seems like a reasonable request. If a little is good… then a lot must be better.

I am sure that in the past each of us have thought, “If only I had more faith.”

I think most of us have struggled with that 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 he wouldn’t have died; she would have recovered.

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.

However, the belief that if we had more faith things would be different, reveals a misunderstanding of faith itself.

Faith is not given to us 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 is not about an intellectual agreement to a certain doctrine or idea.

Faith is not about how much or how strongly we believe in Jesus’s words or actions.
Think about what it means when a married couple is faithful to each other…

It doesn’t mean they believe or agree with each other’s ideas or that they understanding about each other.

They are faithful because they have committed themselves to each other in love and trust.

They are faithful because they continually give their life to each 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 Jesus.

Faith is built on a relationship of trust and love.

Faith does not necessarily, change the circumstances of our lives.

But faith will change us.

Living in faith does not shield us from the pain and difficulties of life and it will not guarantee a specific future.

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 is the way in which we live, so 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!”

We have lived in openness and trust in our love for Christ.

We have allowed Him to guide our decisions… our words… and our actions.

We are sustained by Him in this life and in death.

Jesus does not need to crease our faith. It is not necessary. We live by faith not because we have enough faith… but because we have faith… any faith, even faith the size of a mustard seed. That’s all we need.

Jesus believes that and so should we.

The question isn’t how much faith we have but, rather, how are we living out the faith we do have. How is our faith and our relationship with Jesus changing our lives, our relationships, the lives of others?

The mustard seed of faith is planted within us.

We do not need more faith. We need more response to the faith, to the relationship we already have in Christ.

GOD BLESS!