Luke 17: 5-10
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
“Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would you rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should you say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ “
A Thought
Jesus had just been teaching his apostles (and us) about forgiveness. If a brother should sin against us, we should bring it to his attention. If he repents, we should forgive him even if it happens seven times seven (49) times in one day. The apostles then reply, “Increase our faith!” I can very well understand why. It would be very hard for me have faith to forgive someone 49 times in one day who had sinned against me. Jesus continues to explain. Hopefully my explanation is correct in what Jesus is explaining, if not please forgive me. We could never earn our salvation. When we receive freedom from the slavery of our sins through repentance, we freely receive our salvation made possiable by Jesus Christ. We are to no longer a slave to Satan. We are to forgive others in the same way Christ has forgiven us. We are to present our selves to God and others as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which is our duty or reasonable service.
Our Prayer
Father increase our faith to fully understand the price that Jesus Christ paid for our salvation. Help us to repent, forgive all others, and to faithfully serve you with faith, joy and praise. Help us to prepare the way for others to receive the gospel of repentance by faith in you. We love you. We ask in Jesus’ name, amen.
