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Little Faith
Jesus' disciples were on the sea, being tossed about by a violent storm, and Jesus rebukes them for being afraid, saying "O you of little faith." The disciples find themselves unable to cast out a demon, and Jesus attributes their ineffectiveness to their "little" faith. The disciples fail to understand Jesus' teachings and again he says "O you of little faith." Even though these disciples were often criticized for their little faith, it's hard to see men like Peter, James, and John in that light. Didn't they leave everything behind to follow Jesus? Didn't they do many wonderful works in the name of God? Peter even walked on water for a time, but was still met with the same rebuke when he began to sink. If these great men were called men of little faith, what does that say about our own faith?
The first thing to know is that even little faith can accomplish much if it's faith that's placed in God. In Matthew 17:14-20, Mark 9:14-29, and Luke 9:37-42, we read of a man who asks Jesus to heal his demon-possessed son. The disciples had tried and failed to heal him, so the father desperately asks Jesus, "If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." Jesus responded, " 'If you can!' All things are possible for one who believes," and healed the child. The difficulty the disciples had with healing the child wasn't because it was impossible, but rather, it was because they didn't believe.
The disciples were disturbed that they could not cast out the demon, so they asked Jesus why. Jesus responded, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there, ' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." In this case, Jesus said a little mustard seed's worth of faith can move mountains. Small faith paired with big power can do amazing things, but the faith has to be placed in the right person. If the faith is in ourselves, we'll accomplish nothing; but if the faith is placed in our all-powerful Creator, anything is possible.
Second, the difference between great faith and little faith is our understanding of God's power, and who He is. In Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10 we read about a man who was commended for his great faith. This man wasn't an apostle or even a Jew; He was a centurion Gentile, who had a paralyzed servant. He asked Jesus to heal his servant, and when Jesus agreed to go heal him, the centurion made a great statement of faith. He understood that Jesus had the authority to simply speak and his servant would be healed. He didn't place any limitations on Jesus, even those of time and space. That kind of faith prompted Jesus to state that he had not seen such faith in all of Israel.
So what kind of faith do we have? Do we have a faith that limits God, which says that God couldn't possibly reach that person's heart, or a faith that doubts that God will give us a way of escape from sin? Instead, do we have a faith that deeply believes that nothing is impossible with God, even great miracles? Does our faith trust in our own ability to accomplish great things, or does it rest in a God that can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think?
So when we compare our faith to the faith of Jesus' disciples in the Gospels, let's not be discouraged. Even a little mustard seed's worth of faith is effective when it is placed in God. Furthermore, if our faith is rooted in an understanding of who our Lord is, we won't put any limits on what God can accomplish through us.
- Dan Harbin
The Night Watch
A nurse led an anxious Marine to a hospital bedside and said, “Your son is here.” Heavily sedated, the dying old man could only dimly see him, but reached out his hand. The Marine grasped his hand, sat down, and began to offer words of love and encouragement. After a while the nurse suggested that he could move away and rest awhile, but he refused. Throughout the whole night she could hear him gently talking, but the old man said nothing - he just kept holding tightly to his son’s hand.
Just after dawn the old man died. Before the nurse could offer words of sympathy the Marine asked her, “Who was that man?”
Startled, she replied, “He was your father!”
“No, he wasn’t. I’ve never seen him before in my life.”
“Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”
“I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son. When I realized he was too sick to recognize me I just stayed.”
The next time you see a person who desperately needs
someone to help them get through a tough time,
be that “someone” . . . and just stay.
