Board index ‹ Specific Bible verses, texts, and passages ‹ Matthew

[Ready Art]

How do you "have faith as small as a mustard seed"?

"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'"

I do like to have faith as small as a mustard seed. How do I have it please?

[jimwalton]

The text is not talking about that faith as small as a mustard seed is desirable. What he's saying is that we don't have to be giants of faith. He doesn't say, "If you have enough faith," but simply, "If you have faith." Like electricity, it’s not the size of the connection that matters, but the quality of it. Even the smallest connection, properly set, will make electricity flow with power, and a large one, corroded, will stop it cold.

Penelope Stokes explains, "True faith is not a matter or personal strength, not an issue of quantity, not a question of how much certainty we can muster to meet our needs. Biblical faith, rather, is dependence upon the Person in whom we claim to believe. The key to a life of faith lies in focusing our attention on God, our Source, instead of on the answers to our prayers. True faith focuses not upon the believer’s ability to believe, but upon the grace and faithfulness of God."