Monday, February 9, 2009

Faith of a mustard seed in spite of what people see

"[Jesus] replied, 'Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, 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.'"- Matthew 17:20 NIV

Do you lack faith? I certainly fall under this trap, especially when it comes to doing my part to advance the gospel. However, in the last few weeks, I discovered that my lack of faith is due to the lack of trust in my Savior, Jesus Christ.

At a recent devotional, I shared my difficulty moving around in the fellowship. After a decade of being in a saving relationship with Christ, I still find it difficult to take initiative with others in my congregation. Even while serving as an usher, I blew a golden opportunity to share with a seeker who came to my church for the first time. I was so afraid o pouring my heart out and answering awkward theological questions that i was stand offish. ( I pray thbat this lady can come back and visit the church again).

The real issue is that I have difficult time believing thta God can and will use me to bring others to Him. In case you do not know, I suffered severe burns all over my body twenty years ago, and I was teased and often asked annoying questions about my injuries. It has gotten to a p[ont that it would be best for me to shy away. However, if God can send His Son to the cross to die for me, and raise Him from the dead, why should I lack the faith that I can turn a personal tragedy into an evangelistic opportunity? Should I care if the seeker take me seriously as His messenger?

The point to this anecdote is that If a small amount of faith can move mountains, people who believe in Christ in spite of personal tragedies and deformities (such as myself) should have faith that someone will accept the saving grace of Christ fthrough his or her testomony.

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