Luke 17:5-10 (NRSV)
Read Luke 17:5-10 on biblegateway.com
Verse 5The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" Verse 6The Lord replied, "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. Verse 7"Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here at once and take your place at the table'? Verse 8Would you not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? Verse 9Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? Verse 10So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, 'We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'"
Devotion
Sometimes a person enters our life and lives as a definition of faith—a Jerome, a Paul. They bring a kindling breath of the Spirit that reignites our own faith. But sometimes the person we need is someone who tests our faith. “Increase our faith” seems an appropriate request on any given day. But consider the verse that immediately precedes this request of the apostles: “And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.” Seven times!? But what if I run out of faith after four or five times?! The testing servant sent from God helps me to remember that faith is not a quantity that may run dry after six or seven uses. It is a quality that has staying power, even in the smallest doses.
Prayer
Holy God, I don’t need faith to be able to transplant trees. But I do need the faith to be able to forgive, to be bold, to be confident, to be still and wait patiently, and to keep watch to see what you will say to me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Interested in digging deeper into today’s text?
Read more here.