Clothesline 268 "Faith like a mustard seed"

The disciples ask Jesus, “Increase our faith,” and Jesus answers, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

Jesus is telling them that even a small amount of faith is powerful, that you can’t see the end of your story at the beginning of your journey. It’s like building a wall of bricks. It takes one brick at a time, one placed perfectly upon another, before the finished product can be seen. In the same way, we put one foot in front of another on our journey of faith, and if we are following Jesus, our faith will grow as well.

One brick at a time, building a finished product, is a lot like what it takes to build a congregation. It takes the gifts and talents of every individual to make a church grow and thrive, and when that happens, God can use such a church for his good purpose.

Do you remember the children’s story called Stone Soup? I heard it on Captain Kangaroo! That’s how old the story is! It takes place in a small community with a bustling town square. And in the middle of the town square, someone claims to be making soup in a great big caldron. He’s stirring and stirring, over an open fire, but all he has in the caldron is a couple of large stones! Someone walks by, notices nothing but stones in the pot, and asks the obvious question: “How can you make soup with stones?” The man replies, “Well, I wanted to make soup for the town, but this is all I have.” The onlooker gets an idea and he spreads the word about the need to help the man make his pot of soup for the town, and several people return with vegetables and meat. And you get the picture. By sharing what they had, the entire town was able to feast on a glorious meal.

God’s plans for his people are exactly the same. He will use every offering, every talent, every skill, every treasure—every brick—to accomplish his purpose. The sum of all this giving becomes a very useful source of power.

Our gifts and talents—like one individual brick— will not transform the world overnight. But all of them together will lead to spreading the Gospel of Jesus to those in need. In time, each brick will change the world for the better.

The faith and actions of one person might seem small at first, but when combined in community, it leads to amazing results…results built on faith the size of a mustard seed.