What a great text!
We’ve all heard it many times during our life time.
It is almost proverbial. Yeah, it’s that GOOD!
“They” want “MORE faith.”
And of course, you KNOW who “they” are! “THEY” would be the 12 disciples.
“They” want theirs SUPERSIZED.
“They” want theirs INCREASED.
Apparently, “they” are not satisfied with “what they have!”
A brilliant statement, I know…
Are we ever “satisfied” with “what we have?”
We are always looking…
Always taking a peek…
We want to know WHAT is BEHIND curtain number three.
I mean, looking can’t hurt, can it?
Isn’t it that “the ol’ the GRASS being GREENER on the “other side” shtick?
Madison Avenue has done its homework…we are ENTICED, TEMPTED, SEDUCED and find the thought of “MORE” to be “quite appealing.”
BIGGER, BETTER, NEW and IMPROVED. We want it “ALL” and we definitely want “MORE…”
It’s that old scarcity thing. You never know. You have to be prepared. Some day you may need MORE. You DO NOT want to come up short, or lacking…and you definitely DO NOT want to “run out!”
Silly us, and we thought it was just those depression kids…it’s not…it is US, too!!!
So, what’s wrong with asking Jesus to INCREASE their FAITH?
Actually-nothing.
Perhaps “A” point here is that the disciples are not understanding again, yet, still.
Faith is Good.
Faith is obviously IMPORTANT.
Jesus kind-of brushes his disciples off…a little bit…
He offers LITTLE in the way of encouragement…
He gives them no “tips,” no “tricks,” not even a “go to” website “to learn more.”
INSTEAD…
Jesus’ response SEEMS TO BE…when it comes to faith – they hardly need ANY, at all!
Wow!
Where did that come from?
Turns out, just a MUSTARD SEED’S worth is ALL YOU NEED.
Turns out, a little faith is A LOT of faith.
It is MORE than your realize. MORE THAN YOU KNOW…
“IF” you indeed have faith, you have everything you NEED.
Now by “faith” – we are talkin’ about COMPLETE “trust” or “CONFIDENCE” in someone or in something.
We are talkin’ TRUSTING “in”…BELIEF “in”…BELIEVING “IN,” a reliance, a hopefulness…
YOU KNOW faith can be “many things” to “many different people…”
NOW when Jesus was talkin’ faith – the faith of Jesus is about “loving God and loving your neighbor…”
It is definitely NOT about getting more and MORE of “something” for yourself.
According to Jesus – faith is like “a tube of Brylcreme.” “A little dab will do ya!”
Just an aside here: Did you know? That Brylcreem is a British brand of hair styling products for men. The first Brylcreem product was a hair cream created in 1928.
I know some of you are now stuck with “the Brylcreem jingle” going through your head or you are trying to recall all the proper lyrics for “said jingle…”
Sorry about that! FAITH is “that” powerful.
Obviously, it only takes “a small amount” of light to pierce or to split the darkness in two.
The FATHER according to Jesus – neither expects nor requires us to be some kind of “spiritual JEDI MASTER” in order for HIM to love us…
He loves us AS we are.
The faith Jesus was talkin’ about primarily means a kind of personal loyalty, a personal commitment, fidelity and THE SOLIDARITY that comes from such faithfulness.
If you’ve got it – you’ve got it! Praise God!
“The Gift of Faith” – and “it IS A GIFT” – comes from God himself!
Do Not Look For MORE – but instead, be thankful for WHAT YOU HAVE…and in all things, give thanks and praise to God… for EVERY GOOD THING we have comes from HIM. Amen.