“Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them, ‘The Kingdom of God is not coming in ways that be observed, nor will they say, “Look, here it is” or “There!” for behold; the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you.’”
- Luke 17:20-21
Every now and then it is important to reflect on faith. What is faith? What does faith ask of us? How does it shape the person we are?
At least for me, I find that when I don’t take time and wrestle with it, I often just drift into thinking about faith in a shallow and hollow way. Faith is more just a word, rather than a character-defining verb. Faith that is neither a mile wide nor deep, is hardly a faith at all. So in this chapter, Jesus is instructing the disciples about the way of faith, and the way to follow Him. Faith is the ongoing posture of trusting Jesus, and walking where He walks, no matter how hard that may get.
Faith that Forgives:
Chapter 17 starts with the influence that Faith has on other people through the believer. Jesus warns against causing others to stumble and fall. Being a faithful influence can all too easily slip into becoming a burden upon others, and enacting judgment and vengeance rather than forgiveness.
When someone sins against you, can you respond in faith?
The unfaithful response is one of judgment, bitterness, and vengeance. We all too easily notice how someone else slips up and sins and presume ourselves to be better than them. Meanwhile, the way of faith is one that entrusts vengeance and judgment to the hands of God and instead reflects the heart of God which is forgiveness.
Think of it like a ton of dominos, as each one falls, sins spread because of the momentum of judgment. Yet, when there is forgiveness, it stops a falling domino and keeps the spread of ongoing sin. So if someone repents, showing their sorrow, forgive them!
Faith that Grows:
Jesus also compares increasing in faith to a Mustard Seed. Now remember, the mustard seed is the smallest of garden plant seeds. However, the more important thing to remember is that the Mustard Plant grows to be one of the biggest garden plants and one of the most difficult to get rid of.
Faith needs to grow for it to become resilient and enduring. If it only ever remains the size of the seed, it is neither a mile wide nor deep. It’s a surfacy faith that just might slip away. Yet an increasing faith finds itself digging out a mile wide and deep. It does not stay with merely accepting Christ but works on trusting in the everyday moments of life.
Faith that Serves:
Jesus then shares an interesting parable about a master and their servant. After a long day's work, the servant comes back, and Jesus then poses a question. Is the servant welcomed to the table to dine immediately, or tasked to go prep the meal and join later? On the one hand, it is true that we are invited to the master's table to dine while we are sinners. On the other hand, Jesus has called us to be servants, who humbly do their duties, never demanding a seat at the table. It’s not that Jesus isn’t hospitable, it's merely to highlight an important quality of the disciple's faith, to humbly serve. To do the work that we have been called to do. We do not serve for a reward; we serve to love our Master and show our faith in Him.
Faith that Praises:
In Jesus’ travels, He came to a town where He was greeted by 10 Lepers. In His mercy, He healed every single one of them. Yet, only one of them had the faith that led them to return to Jesus and praise Him.
With faithless eyes, we are like the other 9 who experience the great mercy of Jesus and carry on with life. Yet to be the one with faithful eyes is to see God’s glory through those acts of mercy. Amazed by the presence of His glory, we can turn with faith and worship Him. Not only on Sunday morning do we enact this faith, but deep faith in this sees and praises wherever praise is due to God!
Faith that Watches:
The last section of Luke 17 reveals one more layer to this faith journey, hopeful and vigilant watching. It may be similar to hurry up and wait. Urgency to be patient. Yet it is also more than that because this is looking forward to the day that Jesus returns to bring His Kingdom to its fullest glory!
This story is a warning against becoming lethargic but also against becoming a busybody. Instead, there is an alternative route that leads us to vigilantly watch for His return. We serve, but we also wait gladly. There is no need to look back to a life that is gluttonous and too consumed with the present pleasures. Faith trusts that His return will be as evident as a flash of lightning in a nighttime storm.
Final Blessing:
I know this has been a crash course on the theme of faith in Luke 17, but all the more reason to go and read it and meditate on it. Faith is the ongoing posture of trusting Jesus to help us forgive others, and grow in maturity of faith, while humbly serving with love, lifting that into praise, all while we vigilantly watch and wait for His glorious return. Of course, there is more to the life of the disciple than this, but Luke 17 paints us a beautiful picture of faith in action! Which of these 5 could you focus on this week?
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breath, and every heartbeat of your journey!
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