Thoughts From Luke - Day 75

                                                   Luke 17:3-10

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. ⁴ Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”


         When the disciples say, "Increase our faith!", I kind of picture it in response to Jesus telling them to forgive people 7 times a day. It's like, "That's not humanly possible! We need help." That would go along with the times they said, "If that's the case, it's better not to get married" and "If he isn't going to Heaven, then who is?", or "Are only a few going to be saved"? The disciples were quite often overwhelmed with the impossibility of Jesus' teachings and gave an exaggerated response to portray their frustration. I'm sure Jesus would be thinking, "Good, you are starting to get it. To live a life pleasing to God is impossible. That's why I had to come and do it for you and then live inside you to enable you to do it."  That's why in the Sermon on the Mount, He tells them that unless their righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, they aren't getting in, and to be perfect as God is perfect.

     That being said, Jesus does give some advice on how to grow in their ability to do the impossible. First He tells them not to focus on the size of their faith but rather the object of their faith. An illustration I heard growing up is the easiest way to cut in a straight line is to focus on the end point that you are counting towards rather than the place you are cutting at that moment. The disciples had faith in Jesus enough to leave everything and follow Him. Now they just needed to get to know Him better - who He was, His power, His plan, His love for them so that they could grow in faith. For example, as they got to know His holiness and sinlessness, they would get to realize their sinfulness and the extent to which they had been forgiven. In effect, they were the person sinning against God 7 times a day and He was the one forgiving them. Once they realize that, it would be much easier to forgive the one who has been sinning against them.

       Secondly our faith grows as we humble ourselves before God. Do you see yourself as a servant of God's or an equal. If we put ourselves totally under His authority and rely on Him for everything, He increases our faith. The times my faith has grown the most has been on mission trips. You put yourself totally under God's care when you leave your comfort zone, resources, safety and just trust in Him to provide for your needs. I remember one trip running out of suture to do the necessary surgeries. The next morning when we came in, there sat a box of just the right suture. No one knew where it came from, it just appeared.

       That goes along with the last thing and that is to live a life of serving. If we are continually serving ourselves, our faith isn't going to grow. If we are out helping the poor and needy or serving in the church, we will see "God moments". My sister just lost her husband. He had disseminated cancer and she was serving him and ministering to his needs for the last nine months and put her life on hold. Due to some bizarre circumstances, the dog Lucy, which he couldn't stand, happened to be in the hospice with the whole family as he went to be with the Lord (now his faith is sight - he is now done serving and is eating and drinking with Jesus). When his breathing became shallow, the dog went to the foot of the bed and stood and started whimpering. When Rod stopped breathing, the dog started shaking all over and had to leave the room. What was going on? Did the dog see Rod's spirit leaving his body? Did the dog see or sense the presence of an angel in the room? We don't know but yet, because of her continual service and care for a dying man, she had a God moment.

        Lord, help me like the disciples to desire my faith to grow. Help me to get to know you better, humble myself before you, and keep on serving You and may I see evidence of You intervening on a daily basis. Amen