"Increase our faith"

Luke 16:19-17:10 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself in splendor every day. ²⁰ And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, ²¹ and longing to be fed from the scraps which fell from the rich man’s table; not only that, the dogs also were coming and licking his sores. ²² Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s arms; and the rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And in Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his arms. ²⁴ And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.’ ²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.’ ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ ³¹ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

17 Now He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come! ² It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to sin. ³ Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

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

⁷ “Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and recline at the table to eat’? ⁸ On the contrary, will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? ⁹ He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? ¹⁰ So you too, when you do all the things which were commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”

In today’s text it says:  Now He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come! It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”  The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” But the Lord said, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.”   There are many people who seek the increased faith to do miraculous things. In John 14:12-14 Jesus says:  “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.  Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”  If we desire the faith to do the things that Jesus did, perhaps it begins, as with the disciples, that we ask for increased faith to forgive. Isn’t that after all the greatest thing Jesus did? In Luke 23:34, on the cross, He said: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”  Do we have the faith to forgive as Jesus did? Do we forgive in the midst of our pain and suffering? Or do we often wait until we see the outcome then forgive only if we have made it through?  Do we forgive unconditionally, as Jesus did, without making sure the one who hurt or offended us knows the degree to which they harmed us? Or do we have the faith to say, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”  Jesus says:  “If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”  In scripture, seven is the number of completion, perfection, abundance and rest. That is the forgiveness we are called to.  Lord increase our faith.

In the text, just before calling the disciples to forgive, Jesus says:  “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come! It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to sin.”  We normally associate stumbling blocks with false teachers or false prophets, those who lead people astray, and surely they are stumbling blocks to the faith of many. In Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus says:  “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”    Those today who teach that the things that God calls sin; those who relax His commandments concerning immorality and sin, are stumbling blocks to all who follow their teaching. Those who say they speak the words of the Lord, but in truth speak concerning their own ideas and agendas, are also stumbling blocks, hindering people from knowing what God is actually saying. Is it possible though, considering the context of what Jesus says, that we too could be stumbling blocks to others if we do not forgive?   Do we hinder them from knowing the forgiveness of God, if we do not forgive them? If we will show others complete, perfect, unconditional forgiveness, both they and we can know the rest that comes with right relationship with God.   After teaching the disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13, in verses 14-15 Jesus says:  “If you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”  Lord increase our faith.

‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.  ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.  ‘Give us this day our daily bread.  ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’   Lord increase my faith. Holy Spirit reveal to me any anything or anyone or any area in my life that I have held onto unforgiveness. Increase my faith that I might forgive perfectly and completely; that I might know Your rest.  Amen.