Little Faith, pt.2

Jesus referred to His disciples as men "of little faith" five times as recorded in Matthew, each time giving a different reason for their condition - a different factor that reduces faith down to "little." Yet, He also told them faith as a mustard seed could move mountains. If "little faith" is a problem, and "mustard seed faith" moves mountains, is little faith smaller than a mustard seed? Is the significance of mustard seed faith its size, or is there something else to it.

The first thing that reduces faith to "little" is anxiety. In Mt.6:30-31, Jesus says "If God so arrays the grass of the field...will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? Do not be anxious then...." No need to be anxious, He cares for you. Jesus said if we will make seeking His kingdom and His righteousness our top priority, our Father will provide everything we need. Paul tells us that neither things present nor things to come can separate us from God's love. He didn't mention the past, because, well, it's past. And it already didn't separate us from God's love. So, we don't have to worry about the past, or the present, or the future. But we do. Why?

Oscar Thompson (former evangelism prof at Southwestern Baptist Seminary) said one of the key things he learned from having cancer was: "God won't give you dying grace on a non-dying day." If you're going to die today, God will give you the grace to deal with it, so there is no need to worry or fret. If you aren't going to die today, He won't give you the grace to deal with dying; but that's okay, because you're aren't going to die, so there's no need to be anxious about it anyway! The same is true for anything we face. God's got the grace for it if we need it. If we don't need it there's no grace for it. Either way, there's no need to be anxious. Just seek Him and trust Him. God is powerful, wise, caring, loving, and He will not allow anything to happen to you that He is unable to use to mold you into the image of Christ. If this is true, then no situation is worth our being worried or upset.

Jesus' second teaching on little faith is found in Mt.8:24-26. Jesus and his disciples are on the sea of Galilee when a storm arises. He's asleep. His disciples wake Him saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing!" His reply? "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up, rebuked the storm, and all became calm.

It's been said that fear is faith in the negative. It's essentially faith that something bad will happen, and there's no hope for good. It may or may not be the direct opposite of faith, but it is definitely a faith inhibitor, and is both a cause and a result of lack of faith. It's the 2nd item on the list of things that reduce faith to "little faith." The disciples saw the storm as a harbinger of death. Jesus saw only life. He was not afraid of the storm. He knew He had power over it, so He told it to be calm, and it obeyed Him. When the storms of life blow, we can know the calm and peace we long for if we truly faith that God is concerned for our well being and that He has power over the storms. Or, put another way, we must believe that God is, and that He will reward us if we will seek Him first.