The last month or two I have been thinking about the concept of faith, the size of a mustard seed. What does that mean?
I’ll reference the most familiar scripture for this visual:
“….For verify 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 always felt like there were two ways to interpret this scripture. The first being that even with faith as small, meek, underwhelming and seemingly insignificant as a single mustard seed, you may have the power to move mountains and nothing will be impossible.
The second would be to interpret this scripture as a reference to the great magnificent potential of a mustard seed. Though it starts out small, if the conditions are right, that small seed can grow into a large tree. So does that mean that this scripture is instead referring to the great potential you have with just a little faith, and that as it grows nothing will be impossible?
When are the impossible things possible? When can we move mountains? When our faith is but a mustard seed, or is it a promise that the impossible will be possible when it has grown from that humble beginning?
A week or so ago, I lost my car keys. Not just in my house or in my car or wherever, but in a grove of bamboo, 20 minutes away from home. I searched and I searched. And my kids searched. And a friend’s kids searched. And my friend searched, and I searched again and we all searched some more. She suggested we say a prayer. I admit I felt a bit jaded and apathetic about the idea. But the thought I had was that perhaps she had the faith necessary for that to work even if I did not.
We didn’t find the keys. My frustration grew, but still a sense of apathy mixed in. It felt a bit like just one more trial being dumped on top of a pile of other things that have happened recently and I just didn’t have the emotional energy to spend on being upset about yet another thing. I try not to get upset about things that aren’t really in my control anyway.
After mostly having given up, I let my husband know he needed to come rescue us with another set of keys. Which was a pain because he would have to go walk to the car repair place because he had just dropped our van off to be fixed (another one of those things that has gone wrong lately). There was a part of me even then that thought, maybe he will be able to find the keys. His faith is greater than mine. And we tend to find each other’s lost things anyway.
But I decided to go give it one last chance to look for the keys. In a quiet and solitary moment, I decided I should say my own prayer, with a quiet and humble “Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief.” And I found the keys within a minute or two after. And it was one of those moments that reaffirmed, that our faith does not have to be perfect for miracles to happen. God only asks that we extend the effort. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
But at the same time, in reflecting on the moment even just a few moments later, it is amazing how easy it is to dismiss those miracles. We give scriptural characters such a hard time for dismissing the miracles they observed. But we do it too. Surely my keys were there the whole time and I would have found them eventually with or without any heavenly intervention (although I swear I had looked there before without any luck). And surely, even without having said the prayer, I could have looked in that same spot and found the keys with or without prayer. Surely it was just a coincidence and it would have happened even without prayer. It is just that easy to wash away the spiritual significance of moments that pass by.
I found myself thinking once again, that I relate in so many ways, to the scriptural characters that were filled with doubt and disbelief, more than any prophet or amazing saint. They were just people. Real people with real flaws and weaknesses.
If nothing else, this mental image presented to us of the “mustard seed” indicates that God does not ask us to be mighty spiritual pillars right now. We can come as we are, regardless of where we are in the journey, regardless of the size of our faith, regardless of our strength or endurance. He will take us as we are, and he can pick up the slack if we let him, if we ask for help, and if we act.
I’m a distracted sort. I’m not a great gardener because I do not water things every day. But I try. I planted some seeds a while back and neglected them for a while before deciding to go ahead and re-commit to watering them. Some of the seeds never sprouted. I guess they didn’t appreciate my neglect. But some of those seeds still sprouted despite my initial neglect. It made me think, some seeds once planted can lie dormant and wait for the proper care and attention. While others die if not immediately nourished. I’m inclined to think that our faith is something that can lie dormant sometimes. Like a tree that lies dormant in winter but comes back in full strength every spring when conditions are right.
I’m grateful for the reminders that we are not alone, even if things don’t go according to plan.
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