Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.

— Jeremiah 17:7

He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

— Matthew 17:20

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy

— 1 Peter 1:8

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

— Romans 10:17

5 And to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

16a That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace …

— Romans 4:5, 16a

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace and mercy to you from Jesus Christ.

The words faith and belief are synonyms in the Bible. In Greek, believe (PISTEUO) is the verb while (PISTIS) is the noun. Both words (PISTEUO and PISTIS) have the same basic meaning: to trust in , to rely, to have faith in or to believe. It is not the size of a person’s faith that matters. The important thing is the object in whom we are trusting. Our faith is only as good as its object, which is Jesus Christ, Son of God. In Matthew, Jesus said if we have faith the size of mustard seed, we can move the mountain and nothing will be impossible to us. Mustard seeds are very tiny. This expression tells us no matter how tiny our faith in Christ is, as long as we have the faith, nothing is impossible to us.

Therefore just like what Peter said that though we have not seen Him, we love Him, and though we do not see Him now, but believe in Him, we greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Faith is not some illusive concept but is based on knowledge that comes from the Word of God. Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. Faith is not a work, and therefore it is not based on merit. God’s grace is God’s favor apart from man’s works. Praise the Lord that faith and grace fit together perfectly for our justification and eternal salvation.