FAITH AS MUSTARD SEED!

by Idaline Prince

¹⁴ When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. ¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

¹⁷ “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” ¹⁸ Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁰ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” ^[21] [a]

Matthew 17:14-21

Have you ever wondered how a plain black flat seed of a watermelon turns into a plant which bears fruit much bigger than itself with bright green thick outer coat and red, fleshy and juicy on the inside?

That’s the potential and life inside a seed which in no way can be determined by its unappealing external appearance. Few outstanding characteristics of the mustard seed will help us to understand the type of faith Jesus was referring to. The mustard seed is one of the fast growing plants growing upto 10-12 feet within a few months. It also grows into one of the largest plants almost 20 feet high and 20 feet wide. A seed can even push aside rocks or other obstacles, but it does not do so instantaneously, but by a relentless expansion of growth continually pushing outward and upward. As a seed becomes a plant, it continues to draw nutrients from its source, and thus continues to grow bigger and stronger, forcing hindrances out of its way. A seed is persistent, never giving up. Only death will stop it from growing and working to produce fruit. The tree can grow in arid, dry climates and thrive even in clay or sandy soil.  It can grow in hot, dry weather or cool, wet climates. Also, even if the tree is cut down to the trunk, it can grow back again.

Faith as a mustard seed is not just the amount of faith. Though just a little faith, it needs to be rooted in God’s word, so that the faith is enriched by the promises and continues to grow in spite of the obstacles. We too can tolerate the dry times in our lives and even when we are “planted” in poor soil we can still grow, even if we only have a small amount of faith. Jesus also compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed. It appears that this Kingdom will expand for all eternity and perhaps into the entire universe…all from one of the tiniest (most humble) of beginnings.

Is my faith commendable or like that of the unbelieving disciples?