“My faith rests not in what I am, or what I shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, and what Christ has done, and in what he is doing for me.” – Charles Spurgeon

“The smallest seed of faith is better than the largest fruit of happiness.” – Henry David Thoreau

“For assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” – Jesus speaking in Matthew 17:20 NIV

I think it’s safe to say we currently live in a “super-sized” society.  When it comes to how we measure success, bigger is definitely better!  The size of the car, the house, and the bank account are all indices used to calculate our worth and position.  Our own self image seems to rise when we possess the biggest and best of things.  Give us more mega pixels, horsepower, gigabytes, or square footage and we’re happy campers.  Even at Starbucks, a small drink size is referred to as a “tall” – feeding our psyche with the notion that something little (dare I say small) is not very becoming.

Jesus wasn’t like this.  He wasn’t a “super-sized” kind of guy.  He valued the widow’s mite over the lavish offerings of the rich (Mark 12:41-44).  He heard with clarity the short one sentenced prayer of the tax collector verses the long, boisterous one given by the Pharisee (Luke 18: 9-14).  He didn’t choose a large chariot for His triumphant ride into Jerusalem.  He made His entrance on a colt – the foal of a donkey (Matthew 21:1-3).  He preferred insignificance to arrogance.  With Him, scant was in – excessive was out.

He keeps this same theme when it comes to our faith.  He’s telling us in the Bible verse above that faith is a lot like Super Glue, Tabasco Sauce and what our grandmothers told us about kindness:  A little goes a long way.  For those of us older than we like to admit, faith is like spiritual Brylcreem – a little dab’ll do ya 🙂 

High tech glue, hot sauce from Louisiana, and fancy hair cosmetics didn’t exist over 2000 years ago, so Jesus used the next best analogy:  a mustard seed.  Mustard seeds are about one millimeter in diameter – like the tip of a ballpoint pen.  Need enough faith to move a mountain?  All you need is enough to fit inside of a mustard seed and you’re good to go!

Well, I know what you’re thinking….

“Now wait one second here!  Shouldn’t we be looking to GROW our faith?  Doesn’t size matter?  Didn’t Jesus even chastise His disciples at times for having too little faith?”

Yes, we should be looking for venues to grow our faith, and yes, Jesus did express His displeasure with the Apostles for their lack of faith at times, but here is the message of mustard-seed faith:  It takes very little to make a big difference. 

One little speck of Super Glue can adhere two surfaces together making them inseparable.  A dash of Tabasco and your dish goes from bland to spicy.  The smallest gesture of kindness can melt the hardest of human hearts.  Mustard-seed faith can move mountains, and as Jesus adds, “nothing will be impossible for you.”

You see my friend, the “super-sized” mentality can invade our spiritual life.  We tend to think that if our faith isn’t enormous already, it isn’t really worth anything.

After all, isn’t God looking for the biggest and best Christians He can find?  You know, the ones who donate the most money, who pray the most often, and who have a church attendance record thicker then War and Peace?  Isn’t He looking for the “super-sized” Christian?

Let’s begin to answer that question by looking back in history at three men: 

Moses:   

When God wanted to send Moses to lead Israel out of Egyptian captivity, Moses said, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  (Exodus 3:11). “Suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice?” (Exodus 4:1).  “Oh my Lord, I am not eloquent…but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Exodus 4:10)  “Oh my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else you may send.” (Exodus4:13)

Gideon:

When an Angel appeared to Gideon, sending him to save Israel from the oppression of the Midianites, Gideon responded:  “If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?  And where are all the miracles which our fathers told us about?” (Judges 6:13)  “How can I save Israel?  Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” (Judges 6:15)

Jeremiah:

When God called Jeremiah to be a prophet, he proclaimed:  “Ah Lord God!  Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” (Jeremiah 1:6)

What do you think?  Did these Bible icons start out as super-sized Christians?

Their words reflect doubt, concern, and low self-esteem.  You could say their faith was the size of a mustard seed, but God knew it was more than enough to accomplish what He had planned for them.

I find it fascinating that God tends to use very little to accomplish BIG things.  For David, all it took was a slingshot and one smooth stone to kill a giant.  For Gideon, three hundred men, along with some trumpets and broken jars, defeated the Midianite army that was numbered in the thousands.  Two fish and five loaves of bread fed five thousand people.  Some mud mixed with spit would heal a man who was blind from birth.  A lonely stable and a broken-down manger was the beginning – while a crown of thorns and an old wooden cross was the end – the end of a life that would change the course of history forever!   Tiny faith, the size of a mustard seed, can move mountains.  God saw this in Moses, in Gideon and Jeremiah, and He sees it in you. 

Don’t be fooled into believing that God is looking for great people to do great things.  Don’t embrace the lie that you need to possess large amounts of faith in order to have His approval or blessings.  Don’t think you have to be perfect, a stunning example of faithfulness, to be considered worthy of God’s goodness.

Remember, twelve simple men, the likes of fisherman and tax collectors, were chosen by Christ to begin the early church.  He didn’t look for the most influential political leaders, the top religious scholars, or people with great wealth and power.  He was looking for mustard seed faith – a small amount of faith that can grow into something substantial!

God wants our faith to grow as we move forward in our relationship with Him, but He also desires that we connect with the value of mustard seed faith.  He wants us to remember:

• A little goes a long way.
• A little can move the mountains in our lives.
• Even a little, if it’s all we’ve been given, is more than we will ever need to accomplish God’s plan for our life.
• A little means we humbly rely more on Him and less on ourselves.
• A little helps us and others to see His glory and power more clearly in our circumstances.
• A little, combined with that power, can create something substantial!

Today, together, let’s bring our faith to Him, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem – trusting that the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) will transform our lives and our circumstances in ways we can’t imagine 🙂

May God bless you today and always!