The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Conduit of Faith"
"And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you" (Luke 17:5-6).
Why would the measure of faith not be a primary issue in a lifetime wherein we "live by faith?" (Romans 1:17).
The answer lies in the truth that faith accomplishes nothing in and of itself, but rather serves as our response through which a faithful God acts according to His willingness and ability. Indeed, if the Lord purposes to uproot a tree and cast it into the sea, the power will not lie in the one who trusts Him to act. The believer will rather serve as a conduit of faith through which God Himself acts. This constitutes an uprooted tree as a matter that far more concerns the Object of faith than than the one who expresses faith.
This speaks to the truth that our faith ever originates in God's faithfulness, and our awareness of it. When we find trusting Him a challenge, we do not focus on our ability to trust, but rather the blessed reality of His perfect trustworthiness. Ever and always, we trust someone to the degree we know them. If, through the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, fellow believers, and God's personal working in our lives, we discover in greater measure the Biblical truth of His perfect fidelity and integrity, we will trust Him as the fruit of His realized trustworthiness. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17).
On occasion, the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples about "little" and "great" faith (Matthew 14:31; 15:28). In light of His sycamine tree discourse, He clearly referenced not the quantity of our faith, but rather the quality of it. This refers us to Him. A true and genuine faith, be it seeming great or small, affixes its gaze on the Lord Jesus in the knowledge that trust serves as a conduit, not as the content that flows through it. Such knowledge will "increase our faith" in the sense that genuine faith will arise in our hearts and minds through realization of God's glorious faithfulness. And that, said the Lord Jesus, regardless of how large or small in measure, will be enough for the display of His might.
Our relationship with God began by our "looking unto Jesus, the Author of our faith." It continues by our "looking unto Jesus… the Finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). The fact of His faithfulness and our realization thereof "increases" our faith by emphasizing the Living Water rather than the conduit through which it flows. God alone receives all glory, our hearts receive the blessedness and joy of serving Him by faith, and we influence others to drink of the Lord's perfect trustworthiness.
"The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust."
(Psalm 18:2)
Weekly Memory Verse
"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised."
(Hebrews 10:23)
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