THE REQUEST FOR FAITH
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5).
Jesus answered His disciples’ request for faith in this way: “Which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? . . . So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:7-8, 10).
Christ is speaking here of us, His servants, and of God, our Master. He is telling us we are to feed God. You may wonder, “What kind of food are we supposed to bring to the Lord? What satisfies His hunger? How can we do this?”
The Bible tells us, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Simply put, God’s most delectable dish is faith. That’s the food that pleases Him.
We see this illustrated throughout Scripture. When a centurion asked Jesus to heal his sick servant by merely speaking a word, Christ feasted on the man’s vibrant faith. He replied, “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel” (Matthew 8:10). Jesus was saying, “Here’s a Gentile, an outsider, who’s feeding My spirit. What a nourishing meal this man’s faith is giving me.” When the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48) pressed through the crowd and touched His garment in faith, Jesus was immediately aware of her faith and she was healed. Her faith pleased Him.
I notice in Jesus’ words in Luke 17:8 a blunt statement: “Make ready wherewith I may sup . . . and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken: and afterward thou shalt eat.” He is saying, “You don’t eat first, I do.” In other words, we are not to consume our faith on our own interests and needs. Rather, our faith is meant to satisfy our Lord’s hunger.
Jesus answered His disciples’ request for faith in this way: “Which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? . . . So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:7-8, 10).
Christ is speaking here of us, His servants, and of God, our Master. He is telling us we are to feed God. You may wonder, “What kind of food are we supposed to bring to the Lord? What satisfies His hunger? How can we do this?”
The Bible tells us, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Simply put, God’s most delectable dish is faith. That’s the food that pleases Him.
We see this illustrated throughout Scripture. When a centurion asked Jesus to heal his sick servant by merely speaking a word, Christ feasted on the man’s vibrant faith. He replied, “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel” (Matthew 8:10). Jesus was saying, “Here’s a Gentile, an outsider, who’s feeding My spirit. What a nourishing meal this man’s faith is giving me.” When the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48) pressed through the crowd and touched His garment in faith, Jesus was immediately aware of her faith and she was healed. Her faith pleased Him.
I notice in Jesus’ words in Luke 17:8 a blunt statement: “Make ready wherewith I may sup . . . and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken: and afterward thou shalt eat.” He is saying, “You don’t eat first, I do.” In other words, we are not to consume our faith on our own interests and needs. Rather, our faith is meant to satisfy our Lord’s hunger.