I Lost My Mustard Seed

Minutes before the service, five year old Mitchell climbed on the stage, walked over to me and said with a grin, “Guess what?… my parents aren’t at church today. They went to Costco to get new tires.” Before I had the chance to process the first, “Guess what,” he continued, “And I bet you can’t guess what I have in my hand.” With a five year old boy this could’ve gone anywhere. I started a list, which I think began with an elephant and ended with a bus…all of to which he answered, “Nope.” “Okay Mitchell, so what is it?” He opens his hand and says, “A mustard seed!”

I had never seen one before, so I think I was more like the five year old at this point. “Wow! That’s a mustard seed?” “Yup, my Sunday school teacher gave it to me.” I asked him how he carried it all the way from the other side of the church without losing it. He grinned, “I just kept it in my hand.” As a few other kids gathered, I glanced at the clock, realized the service was minutes away, and then turned back to Mitchell, who was now staring at the floor. Asking him what happened, he said, “I dropped it.” We all got down and started looking. Its the size of a speck of dirt, and blends in with the floor, so I had little faith of finding his tiny mustard seed.

I’m not the first with “little faith.” In his normal manner of reaching past the proud, the strong, and the mighty to the confused, the weak and the doubting, Jesus clarified his audience by saying, “You of little faith, I say to you. If you have faith as small as this mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Ok, I’ve got that part, but what if you dropped your mustard seed? What if you lost the small bit of faith you had? What if you got down on your knees hoping, searching, and praying, to no avail?

Been there before? Life’s going well. You’re holding tight to a little faith. There’s a smile on your face. You’re so excited that you want to tell somebody, “Guess what?…”Then, somewhere between Sunday’s praise and Monday’s problems, between the last hymn and the ho hum, your seed of faith slips through your fingers, out of your grip… and seems lost. You might even know where and when you dropped it. But take courage…so does He. Your faith is His priority, and He’s never lost anything. You’ll get it back.

Where your hope ends, His power is just beginning. Your doubt, uncertainty, or loss of faith in tough times, He’s seen before. Remember the one we call, “Doubting Thomas?” He expressed his own lack of faith…after hanging out with Jesus for three years…three years of quieted storms, dead lives raised, and hope restored. And yet Jesus didn’t berate his doubt and uncertainty. He actually helped Him to believe, and trust again. He’ll do the same for you. Your unanswered prayers, broken relationships, temporary hardships, and the nagging doubt things will ever change are all simply opportunities for Him to move mountains. Your mountains. So don’t give up.” This testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:3

Oh, and guess what? Mitchell’s parents made it, and though his seed dropped and fell… his faith didn’t. His loss became our gain, as it’s now sprouted into faith. My faith… and yours, as you’re reading this now. May your mustard seed, or the loss of it, keep you on your knees, seeking, trusting and waiting on the mountain mover.