Matthew 17:20
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
I’ve heard the mustard seed parable ever since I was a young boy. I never really gave it a thorough review. I just went with the general consensus that If we could just muster (pun unintended) a little bit of faith, incredible things would be possible.
It sounded reasonable; but honestly, it never fully resonated in my spirit. It just didn’t sound like the entire message Jesus was expressing to his disciples. They were already doing fabulous work that took some degree of faith. They had been going around healing and delivering the sick and afflicted. And to presume Jesus was scolding them for having less faith than the size of a mustard seed seemed a bit unreasonable to me. And today I have a perspective I believe is worth sharing.
But before I share my new found insight, I’d like to offer this short reflection. Our God is a present help in time of trouble. He provides deliverance at the point of our need, and not necessarily beforehand. This is especially important to note when studying the Word of God. Often, we proceed as if we have total revelation on every subject and scripture in the Bible. But I’m learning to live out that portion of the scripture we pray, “give us this day, our daily bread”. While we certainly can comprehend the words in the book (because of our education), seldom, if ever, do we proceed with revelation from the book until it’s appointed time. The ancient Word of God speaks to our current dilemmas and issues as powerful as if it was written last night. That’s because revelation is waiting for God to say ‘when’.
Okay, I’m back!
There is a process called personification, which is the attribution of personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman. In poetry, literature and parables, it is often commonplace to use inanimate objects as replacement for people to better help make an important point. So, go with me on this. Traditionally, in Matthew 17 we’ve placed the emphasis on the size of our faith as it relates to a mustard seed. But after reading, could it not be comparing the mustard seed to the size of its faith? In other words, even though they are tiny, mustard seeds got big faith.
Let me see if I can clear this up. Let’s look at another parable. Matthew 13:31-32, “Another 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: Which 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”. In this rendition the little mustard has grown up and transformed itself into tree. From the smallest of beginnings, the little mustard maintained the faith, fortitude and attitude needed to become more than anyone ever thought it could.
Some may argue and say I’m off base, but I’m rejoicing over my new found revelation. I see something in this parable I never considered before. Everybody knows a mustard is a herb. And because of its diminutive size and culinary nature, one may be tempted to plant the mustard in a pot in the house. Or maybe in a small garden with the rest of the spices. But that would be a big mistake. Mustards are not indoor plants. Mustards need to be planted where they can take root and really grow.
They tell me the black mustard grows some 8 feet in height when full grown. Its small, unassuming beginning in no way limits its growth potential, making it the largest of all the other herbs in the garden. So much so that by the time it’s finished growing, it is considered a tree.
Dear Children of God, I wonder have we been cutting off our growth potential because we’ve planted ourselves ‘in the house’? What great exploits and tremendous impact would we have if ever we viewed ourselves differently. We are more than our small beginnings. We are more than our humble start. Yes we have a portion of faith. But do we have Mustard Seed Faith?
God Bless
