Faith as a Mustard Seed

 ¹⁴And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

 ¹⁵Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

 ¹⁶And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

 ¹⁷Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

 ¹⁸And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

 ¹⁹Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

 ²⁰And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

With verse twenty being the key focus of this text and a verse that is used and quoted often by Christians in relation to faith. I wanted to take this time to take a closer look into this statement and bring out five key points in regard to the analogy of the mustard seed and faith.

The first thing to point out that has to happen in regards to this natural mustard seed and the comparable spiritual seed (faith) would be.

1. Getting the seed/faith.

Of course for the natural seed we would go to our local farm store or a fellow farmer but as to the spiritual seed The Bible tells us about this in the book of Romans

12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

My thought on this dealt measure of faith comes from my own personal experience of coming to a point when as a young man. I began to start wondering about my purpose and about life and death, right and wrong, good and evil. I believe that this is also what many refer to as the much used and heavily debated term "age of accountability". Because I believe within us all is the knowledge of our creator the seed (or inner faith) if you will that depending on our reaction to it we either grow or discard. Which leads to the second point in what we have to do with our natural mustard seed as well as our spiritual seed/faith.

2. Plant and Cultivate the seed/faith.

Obviously for the natural seed we need to prepare our soil I.E. tilling the ground, fertilize the soil, place seed at the proper depth and spacing. As for the Spiritual seed/faith the Bible tells us again in the book of

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And in the verse after our key verse where Jesus points out to the disciples in

Matthew 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

So from this we can see the comparison of God's word being the instructions of planting our seed/faith. Prayer and fasting being the soil preparation and fertilization needed for our spiritual seed/faith to begin to grow. So now we have our natural seed and our spiritual seed/faith planted. And now our seed has become a plant so the next point we have is.

3. Grow and care for our maturing seed/faith.

And obviously for the natural seed this involves watering keeping the weeds out pruning and so on for the spiritual seed we are told in the book of

Matthew 13:31,32

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. and in these examples Paul gives of faith growing and spreading,

1 Thessalonians 1:8
For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.
2 Thessalonians 1:3
We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth. And the end of this verse leads to our next point in what should happen with our natural Mustard seed and our spiritual seed/faith.

4. Harvest and share our seed/faith.

Now again obviously we didn't go through all the trouble of growing our natural mustard seed to just sit and look at the plant. Here are some of the rewards of growing the mustard seed.

Mustard Plant Facts

The mustard seeds are small in size and are used as spice and as condiment when mixed with suitable amount of water, vinegar and other liquids. The seeds are also used to prepare mustard oil and its leaves are eaten as mustard greens. Mustard plants and seeds are rich in calcium, potassium, vitamin C and vitamin A! One of the interesting mustard plant facts is that, almost all parts of this plant can be eaten, starting from the stem, leaves and seeds.

Researchers have found some amazing mustard plant facts. With the help of modern electronic techniques, scientists have found that mustard seeds have incredible power and that's the reason they have been used as medicines since thousands of years. According to research, a small mustard seed, only 1 millimeter in radius, generates a bio-energy field of a 100 millimeter radius! These energy fields activate biochemical processes of the body and encourage healing processes. Because of the mustard's seed bio-energy, just like the human energy field, the seeds help to keep us healthy and fit! These mustard plant facts are truly remarkable!
And of course part of this point is we gain more seeds that we can spread or share. As in the spiritual seed faith the Bible gives us these examples.

^{James 5:14,15}Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Matthew 9:22
But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.Acts 6:8
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.Acts 11:24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
Galatians 3:9
So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
1 John 5:4
For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.1 Peter 1:9
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
And in closing and to the last point

5. The reward of our harvest.

Now while for the natural seed the reward is seen in the many uses of the mustard plant.

Mustard is one of the world's oldest spices and condiments known to mankind! In India and Denmark, it is believed that spreading mustard seeds around the external sides of the homes keeps away the evil spirits! The American mustard consumption rate is the highest in the world! The national mustard day and the mustard festival, are both celebrated on the first Saturday of August every year! The name mustard is derived from the Latin words 'mustum ardens', meaning 'burning wines' and it is so named due to the unique flavor of the crushed mustard seeds mixed with wine grapes. The Mount Horab Mustard Museum in Wisconsin is entirely dedicated to the mustard plant! It stores a collection of 5000 jars of mustard, brought from 60 countries and 50 states! One of the most amusing mustard plant facts! The popular saying, "can't cut the mustard" means 'can't live up to a challenge'! There are no plausible explanations about how this saying originated as mustards are plants that can be easily sliced! The 'Triangle of U' is a popular theory that establishes the unique relation between various species of mustard plants spread all over the world! It was given in 1935 by Woo Jang-choon, a Korean botanist! Mustard was known for its medicinal benefits before the popular culinary uses. Greeks used mustard paste to cure toothache, boost appetite and improve blood circulation. More than 700 million pounds of mustard are consumed worldwide every year!

Our reward for the siritual seed/faith. Is seen so much in these few scriptures given in the Book of Ephesians

Ephesians 3:16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

20Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

21Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Happy planting, growing and harvesting!