Increase our Faith

And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" And the Lord said, "If you have faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you. But which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in to the field, 'Come immediately and sit down to eat'? But will he not say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me until I have eaten and drunk; and afterwards you will eat and drink'? He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'" (Luke 17:5-10)

This passage has always puzzled me. It seems to me that in response to the disciple's question, Christ gives a totally unrelated answer. I was meditating on a passage in Hebrews and I was brought back to this passage. What does Christ's response have to do with their question?

It finally hit me. What is Christ saying in response? He is talking about doing things. He is talking about acting. He is talking about serving. The disciples want Him to wave His hands over them and increase their faith. His response to them is to tell them that the increase of their faith comes through acting on the faith they already have.

His first example is taking action based on a mustard seed of faith. If I acted on that type of faith and saw a tree move into the sea, I would almost certainly have more faith by the end of that exercise!

His second example is similar. He talks about a slave doing what his master commanded him to do and not thinking himself special because he did so. The slave is doing what he was asked to do. The exercise of faith is doing what God asks of us. It is acting on what we believe God is asking of us. And when we act out of faith, when we do or go or serve from faith, our faith will be increased.

Faith is increased by acting on existing faith. If I want more faith, I must act on the faith that I have. The answer to the request, "Increase my faith" is… act on the faith I have.

This is the pattern I see in Scripture. Let me use Abraham for an example. He was not asked to sacrifice Isaac as his first act of faith. He was asked to move from his home. God increases our faith by asking greater and greater things of us and stretching us to depend and trust on Him. Sure, that stretching may seem impossible for us, but with Him, all things are possible.

Do I want more faith? Do I want a deeper trust and belief in God? That comes by acting on what I know about God now, what God is asking of me now. And through that action, my faith and trust in God will be deepened.