Me? faith? What you talkin' bout?

Recently I had a conversation with someone who said to me, "I wish I had your faith." I didn't know if I should laugh, cry, or continue to stand there with my mouth open and my jaw hanging to the ground! Me? faith? You have to be kidding? I mean, sure I recognize God in those moments when it really matters. Don't we all? But, do I have the kind of faith that matters, the kind of faith that can lead someone else to a life of fullness and hope? As I read the following piece, I realized that I have enough faith. Enough faith to offer someone else a glimpse of God's peace in the midst of today's concerns. Enough faith to share hope in a future with Christ. Enough faith to recognize that God is using me to light a step on someone else's path.

"Each of us has been given a measure of faith (faith the size of a mustard seed is sufficient), and now is the opportunity for us to commend the faith that is in us. In the words of the prayer attributed to St. Francis (Book of Common Prayer, p. 833), each of us in our small way can be an instrument of God's peace. "Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair hope; where there is darkness light; where there is sadness, joy..."

In effect, Jesus turns the disciples' request around on them. "Increase our faith," they ask, and he points out to them that they have enough already. In spite of their fears, anxieties, they have what is needed, and each of his hearers is encouraged to take their rightful place in the exercise of spiritual authority."

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you.” – Luke 17: 5-6