Luke 17:5-6

Luke 17:5-6

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."

The Lord replied,
"If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

Some thoughts to contemplate:

Jesus compared an amount of faith to a mustard seed – something very small.

He could have compared faith to a single atom or a muon or a quark

for that matter.

So we might say:

It doesn’t take much faith to do something seemingly impossible. Why ask

for more if only a little will do the job?

Or, faith does not come in sizes and can’t be increased or decreased. You

either have faith or you don’t.

Did the apostles mean to say, “Lord help me to believe.”?

Can faith be equated to belief? Heb 11:1 equates faith to assurance and conviction.

If I cannot do the seemingly impossible does that mean I do not have faith?

Did Jesus mean that if you have faith God will give you all you ask?

Was Jesus just using hyperbole to make a point?

James 2:18

Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.”

Demonstrate your faith to me without works,

and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

Here it’s said that faith can be exhibited by seeing one’s actions.

Can the apostle’s request of Jesus “increase our faith” be rephrased to

“Lord give us the assurance and the conviction to be able to follow your way”?