Who among us does not want more faith?

Just think of the infinite possibilities having more faith could provide us.

More faith would seemingly make us immune to doubt: the doubt of God’s presence in our lives, the doubt of wondering if God hears our prayers, or the doubt if we truly will get to live joyfully through our resurrection. More faith could provide us the capabilities to truly (and more easily) share our own faith with strong confidence and conviction to others.

And, maybe more importantly, more faith would give us the ability to fully trust in God; even if it means realizing that maybe God has different plans for us, or maybe, just maybe, God actually does know more than we do. More faith would calm our nerves over the rising violence and the issue of suffering in the world.

But without even just a smidgeon of faith, would we partake in any of these following activities? Would we attend church if we had little to no faith? Would we commit to praying and participate in prayer if we had little to no faith? Or, would we even live our lives in a Christian manner if we had no faith? I doubt it.

The main message from Christ in regards to faith is one where I feel He is saying that even with just a smidgeon of faith, we are capable of many great things! Christ Himself proclaims that “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.” (Luke 17:6 NRSV)

Is faith something that we should quantify? In a world where we want to turn everything into something quantifiable, something measurable or something that puts us in the lead, would having bigger, better, and stronger faith do just that?

Does the size of our faith really matter?

Maybe that’s another point Christ is trying to make. Perhaps Christ is stressing the understanding that no matter how big or small our faith is, we are still faithful and God will still provide for us.

It all starts with just a little bit of faith. Faith the size of a mustard seed planted within us has great potential.

Yes, our faith can grow. We can nourish it, support it and be aware of it—all of which can be accomplished in a variety of ways: through small groups, bible readings, prayers, church attendance and participation in various ministries.

We must understand that the size of our faith is not what is at stake. The size of our faith will not make us a better Christian or give us more knowledge or more power.

What is truly at stake is how powerful our God that we have faith in is. We know that with and through God all things are possible!

Also at stake is the accountability and forgiveness we must exhibit within our own faith community. With our faith we realize that we are not self-reliant (or at least as much as we thought); we understand that our faith cannot necessarily be measured, nor should it be compared. Rather, we are meant to live in a loving, accountable, forgiving community that is reliant and dependent on a God that is much more intelligent, powerful and stronger than we could ever hope to be.