By Paul Hammons
April 22, 2018
We often see the need in our lives to increase our faith in God, seeing how we often fall short in serving God, resisting temptation, and serving our brothers and sisters in Christ.
In Luke 17, the disciples ask Jesus: “Lord, increase our faith.” The context of that passage suggests that the reason they ask this question is that Jesus has been talking about forgiveness, teaching that we ought to forgive our neighbor whenever that person sins against us and then comes back repenting. This is in connection with the idea that if you cause a brother to stumble, you will be accountable. So in many ways, our relationship with God depends on our ability to forgive people who the world would view as unforgivable.
Jesus provides two thoughts in connection with this request. First, he states that “if you have faith the size of a grain of mustard seed” you have enough faith to do great works for God. Second, he reminds them that no matter how great those works are, your faith rests in the idea that you are a servant of God, and do not earn God’s gratitude or obligation – you’re doing what God has commanded you to do.