Last week. Cherish (yeah, that's my wife. Awesome, right?) spoke about the mustard seed.
The scripture this comes from is Matthew 13:31-32
" 31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
and also Matthew 17:20
"I tell you the truth, 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 personally LOVE that second scripture, because I gotta tell 'ya. Most of the time I feel like my faith is just so
small.
but that's okay! Becuase it's not about me! It's all about God and God is
BIGGER THAN ANY SIZE FONT CAN EXPRESS!
I think church people need to return to their mustard-seed-sized faith. I think we need to admit when our faith is little and as a community we can do amazing things with our mustard seeds.
However, I think churches mess up sometimes. Sometimes we get too locked up in the rituals and the "we've always done it this way" attitude. We get stuck in a rut and trivialize our faith and turn it into something else. And instead of becoming a beautiful tree our mustard seeds turn into http://www.britishfooddirect.com/images/24-65-f-american397.jpg
or if you go to a larger, possibly wealthier or fancier church... http://ninecooks.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/greypoupon.jpg
How should we see our Mustard seed faith?
First thing. We need to know just where our little mustard seeds stand.
http://stephennewell.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/mustard_seed-749409.jpg
That's right. In God's hands. God is the designer, maker and giver of our faith. The power to move mountains isn't ours; it's Gods.
Our faith isn't a tool, it isn't a means to get what we want out of church, worship or whatever. Our faith is that which allows us to enter into blessed relationship with God, and isn't that what's most important?
So let's cut the mustard (chuckle) and get to doing the bare bones work of following Christ. And maybe just one day, we'll look back and be amazed at what God has done.
http://transatlantica.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/mustard-tree_mist.jpg
remember what Paul told his Corinthian friends (1 Corinthians 3:6 - "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow)
sweet.
