Matthew 17:20 - Jesus replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, 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."
Ya know how things can be so quiet in your life, and then, all of a sudden, all sorts of things start to happen? It's kind of how seeds are. If you planted 'em, you know they're down there in the dirt, but it can take a while before you see anything happen. And then, all of a sudden, well, as Jesus puts it in today's Bible verse, mountains start moving and nothing seems impossible. All from a little, mustard-seed-sized faith.
I myself am in the midst of a few days here where teeny mustard-seeds-to-move-mountains faith is easy to see.
It started Friday with my daughter Cassidy's 19th birthday. She'd been working hard all summer to plant seeds of faith in a whole community-center full of underprivileged kids, seemingly to no avail. And then, all of a sudden, when she showed up to serve on Friday, the whole place greeted her with birthday love and rejoicing that had the imprint of her mustard seeds all over it. Awesome power's unleashed when faith in Jesus perseveres and keeps serving with knowledge and love. It can change a whole community!
And then yesterday (Sunday) afternoon I arrived here at Camp Sumatanga to serve with Amanda at my first special-needs adult camp. Many years ago, Amanda's grandparents, Joe and Virginia Green, had mustard-seed-sized faith and worked with a team to start Camp Sumatanga. Now, as a mountainously effective ministry, the Camp has an auditorium that bears the Green name, celebrating her grandparents who believed that mountains can indeed move with a little faith, just as Jesus promised.
And a couple days from now, my daughter, Calley, will begin another year serving The Oaks Retreat at Auburn University. Counselors for the retreat walk beside incoming freshmen to encourage and equip them with the fullness of the Gospel as they start the transition into college. Counselors lead a group of freshmen in a small group for the weekend retreat, showing freshmen what it looks like to be rooted in the Lord and bearing fruit during their time in Auburn. Counselors follow up with the students through the Fall semester encouraging them to stick with and glorify Jesus Christ. The counselors believe that their seeds will produce Oaks-sized faith in students who, in the years to come, will reach for the heavens and impact businesses, governments, and communities with Jesus Christ.
Three mustard-seeds-to-mountain-moving ministries that have burst into my view in a few days.
Today's Monday. I believe that God's going to do awesome things here at camp this week in the hearts of all these special needs adults. And let's all believe that our seed-planting labors today will have a mountain-sized impact tomorrow. All that's required is some good ol' hard work, and a little mustard-seed-sized faith in the promises of Jesus.
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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