Faith -the Mustered Seed

UV 1409/10,000 Faith- The Mustered Seed
It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.

Luke 13 v 19

Faith is considered the least important aspect of life for those who are in power and position, by those who are considered knowledgeable, influential and wise. It is decried as being baseless, unreal and unscientific. The movers and shakers of the world do not give much credence to the claims of faith. It is not factored into the decisions and plans of the high and mighty of every land. Yet it is the most important seed. It is planted by the Lord Himself, the divine gardener in His chosen ones. It is planted in our fields. Where we are currently is our garden, our field. The gospel is the good seed of faith. It cancels the dictates of fate and takes us on a journey of faith. Faith is not only a mustard seed, it is also a mustered seed, a seed of the essence of truth, knowledge and wisdom that is gleaned or gathered from the sum total of our life lessons and experiences. Faith not only moves mountains but it opens hitherto sealed fountains of love, joy, peace, grace and every type of heavenly and earthly blessing. Faith does not make us a stand alone tree or a lone tusker. But it makes us a great tree in a well-watered garden. The words “ well-watered” has two meanings: one, we are adequately watered by grace. Two, we are watered from a well that never dries up- the eternal spring of the Word. We connect, communicate and fellowship with other trees in the garden of faith. We are also an enclosed garden with the walls of the Lord’s presence and protection guarding us as we grow and bear fruit for His satisfaction.

Jim Rohn wrote that “ Change is inevitable, growth is intentional.” Growth is not just intentional but it is God-intended and ordained. We need to grow in faith, hope and love –the three great excellencies of our lives. We need to grow like Jesus in stature, in knowledge of His Word and in favour with God and man. We need to grow in grace and by grace. Our fruit and our gifts need to increase and multiply. We need to grow to the very maturity of Christ. We cannot remain a sapling. Which of us as parents would not want our children to be promoted from class to class, year to year? Similarly, the Lord expects us to grow from year to year, experience to experience. Which of us as parents expect our children to remain little, however cute that might be? God expects us not to remain a tender sapling but to grow into a strong and mighty tree in the land- either a cedar, a cypress or a myrtle tree. He desires us to draw water for our refreshing, nourishing, flourishing and strengthening all the time from the river of the Word with the help of the Holy Spirit. Even as we grow, our branches are pruned by the Gardener so that we are more fruitful and our growth regulated and balanced. Our faith, hope and love are the three subjects in which God tests us with trials and troubles. When we pass in these three subjects, we graduate to the next level in our walk of faith. All mankind is described in the Word as grass that is here today and gone tomorrow. The roots of grass are shallow and weak. Faith sends down deep and strong roots. Almost as much as is visible above the ground as branches, so also grows the invisible roots that need to hold us up in every storm of life.

The “fowls” of heaven mentioned in the uni-verse are kindred spirits whose eyes are set on the delights of the heavenly and eternal kingdom of the Father. The branches of our tree of faith or our various activities and expressions should encourage, mentor, bless, shape and groom young ones in faith to learn to fly with the wings of prayer and the Word. We should become springboards for the faithful to learn to fly. We should be a shade for the discouraged and fearful. We should also provide shade for the worldly to find hope for their lives. The beasts should find shelter under our boughs. Like Joseph our lives should be a fruitful bough that overflows the walls of the well by which we grow.

Prateep V Philip