He heals lepers, casts out demons, calms storms, and every time the disciples sit there amazed and shocked. "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 4:41b)
You would think that at least the disciples, of all people, would get that He is the Messiah. But they didn't. Time and time again, they still didn't.
After reading through several chapters I just want to sit there and knock their heads together. Over and over again they miss the clues. Jesus basically spelled it out for them, even. No wonder He got frustrated when they had such little faith in Him! I don't blame Him.
But then again, how many times have I missed the big clues and hints that are spelled out for me? So many times God has helped me through incredible things...and yet my faith remains a mustard seed. He's been feeding me sunshine and rain, and yet it is still so small.
Who am I to criticize the disciples...I do the same thing. Sure they had Jesus right there and they didn't get it...but I have the Holy Spirit right here and I don't get it most of the time. I should know better, that seed should have sprouted into this large plant by now...but it hasn't.
It's funny....mustard seeds sprout into shrubs really. Not this big plant that "grows up and becomes larger than all the other garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." (Mark 4:32) Mustard plants aren't typically huge in nature. So how can they grow to be larger than the rest of the garden plants?
My faith on my own will not be big. If I strive for my faith to grow and grow and grow, the best it can do is grow into a shrub. But God has bigger plans. He wants to make that tiny little seed that is meant for a shrub into the largest of all plants. He wants, and can, make a shrub into great Redwood.
It is possible for a person to have faith, and not let God be the living water that grows your faith. But it is a faith that falls short of the plans that God has for it. We can only grow so much and so far. God can grow us into something far beyond what we are capable of! We just have to let Him.
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