Mustard Seed
Yeshua was asked in Luke 17:5.
5And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
The apostles asked Yeshua to increase their faith. Throughout my walk as a believer, I have heard various explanations as to what this means. One person claimed that we have all the faith we will ever need. We just need to exercise the faith we have, Luke 17:6.
6And 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.
To some this means that if we had just a little faith, we could tell the tree what to do. We could move mountains. There would be no limit to what we could do. If you believe that, I challenge you to at least read this teaching with an open mind. Many who claim this, typically never have the faith they desire. The answer lies in the pages that follow, Matthew 13:31-32.
31Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
The parable in Matthew 13 concerning the Kingdom of Heaven and Yeshua’s response in Luke 17 are vitally connected with our measure of faith, Romans 12:3.
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
The truth is, the believer is not initially given all the faith they will ever need. They are given a measure of faith. This is similar to the mustard seed. Although our measure may be small as a mustard seed, when properly nurtured it can grow like the mustard seed into great faith.
Now the birds in the parable represent the weakest of believers. These rely on the strength of other believers. They receive both spiritual protection and nourishment from other believers. Unfortunately, these may unintentionally pick at another’s faith. They could eventually weaken and cause the downfall of one’s faith if one does not learn how to build themselves in the faith. It is the responsibility of stronger believers to help and support the weak, Romans 15:1.
1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
The reason why these thoughts are vitally connected is because our faith is vitally connected to the Kingdom of God.
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