Faith: How Much Is Enough?

Faith: How Much Is Enough?

I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.

Matthew 17:20

Faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

Romans 10:17

Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

Romans 12:3

Have you ever run through an obstacle course—maybe crawled through a barrel or jumped over a bar or stepped through a series of tires to cross the finish line?

Some people see the life of faith in God kind of like an obstacle course—they think they have to prove to God that they’ve got what it takes in terms of faith. But does God really set up hoops for us to jump through? And in terms of faith, how much is enough? How do you measure it?

When the disciples asked Jesus how to get more faith, he didn’t give them a formula for increasing the amount of their faith. He told them that it isn’t the amount of faith that matters but the object of faith. In fact, the only thing that matters about your faith is who you put your faith in. Jesus showed what he meant by telling them all they needed was faith the size of a mustard seed—a tiny seed no bigger than a freckle on your nose. He was saying that if faith in God is present at all, even if it is no bigger than a mustard seed, it can accomplish wonders because of who God is.

It’s not up to us to work up enough faith and get rid of all doubt so that God will be convinced we’re worthy of whatever it is we’re asking for. That’s putting our faith in faith, and not in God.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

If you had to pick a size to describe your faith, how big would you say it is? Why?

What do the two verses from Romans (on the left) say about faith and where we get it?

What’s the difference between depending on your faith in God to make something happen and depending on God to do something?