Everyday is full of choices. That is what makes us human. We have the ability to reason and choose. We choose food, clothing, how we spend our time or what we read, watch and think about. We choose recreation, friends, jobs, housing, spouses and how we spend our money. And every one of these choices leads us to more choices, making life a tangled mess of choices. If you don’t believe me, just make one choice differently today then pay attention to the consequences of that change.
For example, I might choose to sleep a little later than normal. That causes me to miss breakfast which makes me snack before lunch which makes me not want much lunch. So I get super hungry in the middle of the afternoon and grab a Dr. Pepper and candy bar to hold me until dinner. Of course you know what happens at dinner which leads to a late night snack because for some mysterious reason, I cannot go to sleep at my regular time so I stay up late watching the TV until I fall asleep. Then the next morning… You get the point. Every tiny, insignificant decision affects so many others!
Faith is a decision. When we make a mental decision to believe rather than to fear, every choice for that entire day will hinge on that choice. Choosing faith is powerful and affects every part of our lives. Just like the decision to sleep in late affected my entire day and beyond, so does a single tiny choice of faith affect my entire life. It is not so mysterious. I always thought faith was some big supernatural thing. But today I am reminded that faith is a choice, a single choice made in a moment of time, over and over again. I first chose faith a long time ago. And by sticking with that decision daily, I began the journey of a faithful follower.
Remember the mustard seed analogy? Jesus particularly liked this little seed. He told the disciples that if they had the faith of a mustard seed, they could move a mountain. Then at another time he tells them that the kingdom of God is like that little seed.
30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
Mark 4:30-32 [NIV]
On a quick Google, I found that mustard bushes reach an average mature height of between 6 and 20 feet with a 20-foot spread, although exceptional plants can reach 30 feet tall under ideal conditions. They have a spreading, multi-stemmed growth habit with a drooping or weeping branch structure.
Sasha Degan of Home SFGate
I always thought this seed analogy referred only to a tiny amount of faith for a lifetime, but now I see that tiny seed of faith as a starting place for the kingdom of God in our lives, affecting the lives of others. Just as a tiny seed is the beginning of a large branching plant, so is one single, tiny choice of faith. It is the multi-stemmed part that intrigues me. Each branch gives birth to more branches, until that single decision has branched into every corner of our lives. Maintaining this choice by daily renewal makes it grow and branch into more and more parts of our life, ultimately creating a niche for other living things. Faith starts by a single simple decision. And spending the time to nurture this choice, causes it to branch into other parts of my life. Faith is an anchor for my choices yesterday, today and tomorrow. Yes, I will make wrong choices based on fear, selfishness, pride or anger. But my fall-back, my go-to, is faith. And when I make minute-by-minute selections based on faith it is like fresh rain on the roots of a thirsty plant.
