Mustard Seeds

I used to think that missionaries were supers-- supermen, superwomen, super-Christians. They must have a better connection with God; they had text-messaging while I still snail-mailed. Or they had a mountain of faith, compared to my grain of faith.

But Jesus says, "I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

So my grain of faith should be enough. Enough to fly me across the ocean and and live in a country where English is not spoken. Enough to give me courage to choose work that pays less, but reaches more people. Enough to know that God can change a person, any person.

I discovered today that even missionaries can have faith as small as a mustard seed. We spent the day with our friends William and Larisa (I know this is the third time I've written about them, but most of us have people in our lives who consistently nurture us in loving ways-- William and Larisa are some of mine) and they shared with me that they are unsure of their next destination, but they are sure that they need a home from which they can do their ministry. Where that home will come from? God will provide, as He always had. But it sometimes keeps Larisa up at night. She and her husband discuss it over and over, they pray and they pray, they ask and they ask their connections for guidance and prayer. They want to make good parenting decisions as their children get older, and they ask me-- me!-- for homeschooling ideas. Unlike my idea of the super-missionary-Christian, they often don't have it all figured out before they get on the plane. Their faith right now feels small, as small as a mustard seed. But the difference, I think, between them and me, is that they will still step out with their mustard seed firmly in hand, whereas I would hold back and wait for a sprout, or better yet, a root or branch before I trust God.

We each hold our mustard seeds, and if we all stepped in faith, we would move many mountains. Imagine a world like that!

(Please pray for William and Larisa as they continue to shine the Light for Muslims in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Pray that God will provide a home for them and their six children, a home that they can use to teach and serve.)