It sounds odd that Jesus would tell his disciples they failed because they had so little faith, and then go on to say they only needed a mustard seed’s worth to move mountains.  But it’s more the quality of their faith that he was referring to, rather than the quantity.  The thing about seeds is that they have great potential, but need to grow – much like faith.  As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:

“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more…” (2 Thes 1:3, NIV)

Growing from mustard seed to mustard tree requires time and patience – and perseverance during the tougher times:

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming.  See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is…  Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered.  You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about…”  (Jas 5:7-11, NIV)

Mature faith is tenacious, firm, resolute – it has to be, in order to survive the many tests that are thrown at it.  But the end result is spectacular.  We can see this in the story of a Canaanite woman, whom Jesus commended as having great faith:

“A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!  My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.’  Jesus did not answer a word…”  (Mt 15:22-23, NIV)

How strange, and how rude!  A woman pleads for mercy, yet Jesus doesn’t reply.  But then again, sometimes it seems like that when we pray to God.  That doesn’t stop this woman, though – too much is at stake.  So she kneels before Jesus and pleads again.  Jesus insults her, but that didn’t stop her either:

Woman: Lord, help me!
Jesus:  It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.
Woman: Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.
Jesus: Woman, you have great faith!  Your request is granted.
(Mt 15:26-27, NIV)

She refused to be offended by God, and Jesus finally grants her her request.  But not before drawing out her great faith for all to see – a faith that was relentless.

– Joey

Later on, Jesus tells the parable of a widow who, through persistence, finally received justice from an unjust judge despite his initial refusal and indifference to both God and men (Lk 18:1-5).  This parable was told to the disciples “to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (Lk 18:1, NIV)

The idea of persistent prayer can seem odd – as if children of God need to pester, plead with and hound a heavenly father to get something good.  After all, most earthly fathers seem happy to give their children good things the first time they ask – sometimes before – and don’t need to be worn down by constant harassment.

But on closer examination, God’s nature is only partly represented in the two parables.  He indeed gives us our daily bread (Lk 11:3) and is the bread of life (Jn 6:35), and he is the judge of us all (2Tim 4:1).  But unlike the friend in the first parable, God will neither slumber nor sleep (Ps 121:4), and unlike the judge in the second parable, God is a just, righteous judge (Acts 17:31).

The main point of the two parables is not to do with God’s nature – and to make sure we don’t get the wrong idea, immediately after the parables Jesus assures us that God willingly gives good gifts (Mt 7:11) and that he will ensure justice, quickly (Lk 18:7-8).  Instead, the parables concern us – and more specifically, our faith.  At the end of the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus said:

“‘And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones…?  I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.  However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’” (Lk 18:7-8, NIV)

That’s what Jesus was on about – faith, and the perseverance thereof.  The two are actually inextricably linked:

“By faith he [Moses] left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” (Heb 11:27, NIV)

“…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Heb 12:1, NIV) /
“…I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (says Paul in 2 Tim 4:7, NIV)

“…the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete…”  (Jas 1:3-4, NIV)

God doesn’t withhold anything good from us.  He wants to give us the best – and that includes perseverance.

– Joey

In so many stories of conflict in the Old Testament, the real war is fought more in the heart than on the battlefield.  In the above situation, King Ahaz of Judah was under attack from both the king of Aram and the king of Israel, and though he was able to resist them, he started losing heart.  God came to the rescue in his inimitable style – by sending his word, in this instance by Isaiah the prophet.  God told Ahaz:

“‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid.  Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood – because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.” (Isa 7:4, NIV)

In war, as in life, it seems one of the most important things God warns his people against is losing heart.  He says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Prov 4:23, NIV)

Earlier in their history, at a crucial point, the Israelites lost heart – and lost so much else besides.   They were on the verge of entering the Promised Land, God having just delivered them from Egypt with a show of his might and power.   But when the Israelites heard a discouraging report from their spies about the Promised Land and its formidable inhabitants, they cried:

“Where can we go?  Our brothers have made us lose heart.  They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky…” (Deut 1:28, NIV)

The Israelites lost heart, and their trust in God – and so lost the war before it began.    They spent the next 40 years wandering in the wilderness before they returned again to the Promised Land to gain what God had given them from the start.

When the Israelites finally settled in the Promised Land, Saul became their first king, and he faced a similar struggle against discouragement.  Goliath taunted his army so that they were “dismayed and terrified.” (1 Sam 17:11, NIV)  When David comes to the rescue of the Israelite army, he says to King Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” (1 Sam 17:32, NIV)

What David did for the Israelite army – fighting on their behalf to conquer the enemy they couldn’t – Jesus did for us.  And so we hear Jesus saying something similar to his disciples: “…In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”  (Jn 16:33, NIV)

So whatever it is, don’t lose heart.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Heb 12:2-3, NIV)

– Joey

“All these people were still living by faith when the died.  They did not receive the things promised: they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.  And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth… they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (Heb 11:13 & 16, NIV)

Hebrews speaks of Abraham who, while still living in tents, was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Heb 11:10)  And Moses “regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” (Heb 11:26).

When the angel of the Lord told Hagar about the future of her child, that her descendents would be too numerous to count, she would have been encouraged.  It would have helped her go back to Sarah and face her difficult circumstances.

And looking forward to where he was going helped Jesus endure the cross – giving us a model of how we should approach the trials of life (which don’t come any tougher than the cross):

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross…” (Heb 12:2, NIV)

We too, as Christians, have something to look forward to.  We have a firm and glorious hope because of the One who went ahead of us.

“… God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27, NIV)

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Rom 5:5, NIV)

In the light of our eternal destiny with God, our present struggles are only fleeting, as real and difficult as they might be.

– Joey