I get sidetracked in my Bible reading sometimes. Usually when I come to Matthew 17 I get stuck pondering mustard seeds. A mustard seed is small, but it’s not all that tiny. So I start asking myself questions like, Do people see a mustard seed’s worth of faith in me… or is it necessary to tell them? By the time I get through thinking and praying about that, my quiet time is over.
Today, however, I considered the mountain-moving aspect of Matthew 17:20, and my brain almost exploded. “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Here are seven roads my thoughts went down:
1) What kinds of mountains need moving?
2) Are the mountains I want to move actually mountains? If viewed from a distance, would they look different?
3) Why would I even consider commanding a mountain to change location? Because I don’t like the way it makes me feel? To allay my fears? To help someone else? So that God can be glorified?
4) What else might God want me to do with a mountain? Climb it? Go around it? Tunnel through it? Fly over it? Trudge along the trail with someone who needs companionship? Hang from a cross on it?
5) What could I learn, and how would I draw closer to God, if the mountain I want moved doesn’t budge?
6) What will be revealed about my soul when I can’t blame the shadow of the mountain for the darkness anymore?
7) Assuming my mountain relocates, how will that change the landscape, both for good and for bad? How will it change the world for others?
And here’s one last thought: have I ever been asked to move a mountain? I don’t think so. Have you?
