The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Increase Our 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 is so little faith required for the doing of great things? The answer lies in the object, or rather, the Subject, of our faith. Trust is only as effectual as the one trusted. Faith, in and of itself, accomplishes nothing. It rather rests upon the faithfulness of whoever it believes and upon whom it relies. A tiny seed dries and withers unless placed in the environment of soil, water, and sun that make possible its growth into a mighty tree, even as it uproots another mighty tree.
Increase our faith? God answers the request by increasing our knowledge of Himself and our understanding of His truth. We seek to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ" because we trust someone to the degree we know them. If this someone happens to be God, and if He promises to do great things through the vehicle of even small faith, we do well to seek the increase of knowing Him and understanding His truth (II Peter 3:18). Thereby, great trees may be plucked up, and great trees planted by seemingly small faith, whose greatness lies in the One it trusts.
A reading of Hebrews 11 in this light yields insight into the truth we consider. Sixteen times, the writer depicts the saints of old as doing great and monumental achievements "by faith." What does this actually mean? Is faith some sort of spiritual power in and of itself? Certainly not. Faith rather serves as our means of accessing the availability of God and the power He possesses in and of Himself. The writer of Hebrews, in light of all Scripture, means that the believers He referenced did what they did by the faithfulness and power of God, accessed by trusting Him and believing His promises. In all sixteen accounts of doings "by faith" recorded in Hebrews 11, not one occurred by the power of faith, but rather by the power of God accessed by faith.
"We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2).
By definition, faith trusts completely in the power of God. It serves as the necessary, but empty vessel that trusts in the fullness of the Lord Jesus. Faith echoes John the Baptist: "I am not the Christ… Behold the Lamb of God! (John 1:20; 36). Thus, but a tiny seed is all required to do great and mighty things because the seed is not the issue. The issue is God, and His chosen determination to work through faith and thereby reveal His enabling. He alone is glorified by His grace revealed, and by the faith vital, effectual, and great in its tininess because of its trust in the God vital, effectual, and great in His glory.
"My strength is made perfect in weakness."
(II Corinthians 12:9)
Weekly Memory Verse
My strength is made perfect in weakness.
(II Corinthians 12:9)
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