Matthew 17:20-21
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. 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.”
This passage in Matthew took place after Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain. A man reported to Jesus that his disciples had failed to heal his son who has a seizure disorder from which the boy has suffered greatly. In a rare display of chastising of his disciples, Jesus attributed their failure to their lack of faith:
Mt 17:17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”
He then encouraged them that faith isn't measured by how great or little, but simply whether there is or there isn't. For as little faith as a physically small (around 1-2mm) mustard seed they can move mountain (where Jesus presumably just descended).
I am not unfamiliar with the sense of failure when it comes to healing anyone. In my medical profession I do very little healing. Most patients either get better over time if they have an acute, self-limiting illness, or they get worse if they have a chronic, typically progressive illness. I suppose I have a role to play by either shortening the course or improving symptoms of the illness (e.g. a respiratory infection), or by delaying an eventual outcome of a chronic condition (e.g. a heart attack or a cancer). Jesus has placed me in this vocation to move mountains! What are these mountains? I think one of the biggest mountain is people's spiritual blindness. How much faith do I need to remove this blindness? Do I believe that John 3:16 applies to my patients as well as to me? Here it is:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Just as an aside, Jesus heals the boy by rebuking the demon in the boy. He didn't use anticonvulsant. It's just another miracle! The scripture often describes symptoms and signs of clinical conditions that may or may not have the same medical labels of today (e.g. leprosy can be any skin rash and not necessarily Hansen's Disease).
I think I am going to find a small container of mustard seeds to keep in my office to remind me of this lesson... Nothing is impossible with God!
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