May 5 – Just a grain....

"Truly I tell you," Jesus replied, "if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say
to this mountain 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen” - Matthew 21:21

I was looking at the pear tree in my garden and admiring how lovely it looks in full blossom against the sky – it's a BIG tree, as you can see from the picture. Although I was a witness to it's 'birth,' I still find it hard to take in that this fruit tree, that faithfully, year after year, yields pounds of delicious pears, originated from a pip in a pear my mother was eating. Looking at the tree, I can recall her saying, “I wonder if I put this pip in a plant pot, if it will grow?” Nothing daunted, in faith, she planted it – and it grew. A newborn baby was never tended with such loving care Oh, the excitement when the first shoots appeared. As it grew it was fed and watered and given place of honour by the fireplace.

That particular year an orange pip and a peanut were the next to bite the dust, as, encouraged by the 'faith result' of the pear tree, my mother's enthusiasm knew no bounds. The pear tree, now big enough to be moved into a sheltered spot in the garden, had it's fireside place taken over by the orange plant – at the same time, the peanut was making a run for freedom – feelers everywhere....across the windowledge, up the wall and curtains, but when it came wrapping itself around the kitchen sink taps – enough was enough. It had to go. Likewise the orange plant became too big to keep in the house and sadly died.

The thing that struck me was the unwavering faith my mother had shown. There was no doubt in her mind that the pear, orange and peanut plants would not grow if she nurtered them and remained focussed on the end result – one day, eating pears from her very own pear tree.

Have you ever been around someone of faith....someone who didn't have the word impossible in their vocabulary? It's the most incredible thing, and remarkable how it builds courage into one's own faith. How do we learn to have that sort of faith? It's a lifetimes work....learned one day at a time. We learn it through endurance. James says, “Consider it all joy my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of faith produces endurance. And let endurance have it's perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” - (1:2-4).

James isn't talking about short bursts of faith, but a regular habit of living – lifetime faith, learned not when things are going well, but through the depths of sorrow, despair, pain, and financial insecurity. This sort of faith results in the kind of endurance James spoke of. Like a wheel that turns, makes a full cycle, and comes back to the same point every once in a while.

Hebrews 11 tells us about Bible characters who, like my mother, also showed the results of faith, learned through the hardships of daily life. Noah, a farmer, who went into the boatbuilding business, working on the boat for 120 years until the rains came. Abraham, a business man, who followed where God lead. And Sarah, his wife – just a housewife who became a name in the faith records. Joseph, a slave with a prison record, who clung to his faith and became prime minister in Egypt. Then there is Moses working as a shepherd for his father-in-law – it took Moses eighty years before he was to do anything spiritually significant. To say nothing about the life Rahab lived – a known prostitute – yet it's her faith that is the reason we know her today.

God never promised us a rose garden. Faith doesn't change our circumstances, but it changes us. It gives us the strength to hang on, and hang in there, when the odds are stacked against us. Had those pips failed to germinate and grow, yes, there would have been disappointment. But I know my mother would have tried again, and persevered until she had succeeded.

How are your roots doing?

“Living by Faith” - LIVE is the music for today's blog. Click on the picture to listen.