Earlier this week my (almost) 2.5 year old grandson was at our house and decided he wanted to check out some of the jewelry I have in my stand up jewelry box. Neither his mother or I knew he had discovered it, so when she saw him it was quite a surprise. I’m not sure why he selected the things he did to pull out and examine in greater detail, but he did learn a lesson on “playing” with Nana’s things. One of a long list of lessons ahead for all of us!
I was pleased that I had made a decision a long time ago to keep the best jewelry in the very top of the jewelry cabinet which our grandson couldn’t reach. I have several things of my mother’s that were sentimental to her and as a result are special to me as well. Although I have a lot to remember her by, there is one necklace that my mother wore frequently that I’m not sure what happened to it. It was like the one is this picture. A mustard seed necklace.
I recall my mom not only wearing it often, but also sharing with anyone who asked her about it, why it was special to her. In Luke 17:6 it says: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. Most of the time she would just paraphrase it to say, “If you have faith as small as (this) mustard seed… you can do anything and expect anything”.
In the Bible Jesus tells the Parable of the Mustard Seed referring to faith and the Kingdom of God. There, Jesus says that the kingdom of God “is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade“.
As I thought of my mom’s passion for this verse and parable and the depth of her belief, I often wondered where it came from. Her life, especially prior to my sister and I coming along was not a great, certainly not a bed of roses. She did a good job of masking it most of the time. Many people would describe their lives in the same way, or much worse. So why believe at all?
There is likely not just one simple answer for this question. I believe, however, that it is how God has told us to live. We cannot be part of Him in any other way but by faith. But it can still be hard. Why?
- We are humans who would really prefer to have proof before we believe in something. In the world today it can even be harder. Science and logic as we know it can tug at our intellect, our emotion and our heartstrings which can often challenge what we truly want and strive to believe.
- Think about other aspects of your life. We want to understand all the minute details before we commit to something. Faith doesn’t work that way – at all.
- When we get closer to a sense of faith and belief, it tends to be about one certain thing, or a safe list of things – not in total, certainly not wholly and completely. But God says to have faith in ALL things.
Please don’t misunderstand. I struggle with this right along with most people. At times I think I’ve got it, but then I stumble and allow worry and doubt to creep in. That’s when I need to go back to prayer, asking for guidance and direction. I want to strive to not only have faith for the small things but for the giant things! And what if our faith exploded to believe in even those impossible things?
There’s a song that says…
The mountain will tell you, that you can’t make it over!
It will try to convince you, that it’s way too high!
Though you feel defeated, know that God keeps His promise!
So you tell the mountain just how big your God is!
It’s much easier to believe in things that we can rationalize or believe we are worthy of. But not that big of a mountain! And please don’t think God that you can move that mountain with my faith which is the size of a mustard seed… no way! Go back if you will to what I shared about the Parable… Jesus said the mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth, grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants.
This concept can be difficult to get our arms around. If we imagine one mustard seed being planted, the result of that one seed will produce a tree that will in turn produce the seeds that make mustard for many years to follow. In time, the tree creates strong roots which resist the various elements. Our faith is very much like that mustard seed. Although it may at one time have been tender and fragile, our faith is growing by reading His word, being in communion with Him and in community with others. As we strive to learn more about Him and His word, the ‘mustard’ that is harvested is a symbol of God’s providence.
That single mustard seed which represents our faith, can grow to a height of over nine feet. Think about that! That means our faith, even though it seems small, will still produce an outcome far greater than we can imagine!
Today’s song is (of course), “Tell the Mountain” by one of new favorite gospel families – The Collingsworth’s. I’ve always told my husband how much I love harmony, but how very special and unique family and sibling harmony sounds. It is undeniable in this special group, but please pay special attention to the words. They give us incredible hope and validation of the power of our single mustard seed of faith!