Those of Great and Little Faith

The Savior seemed to be impressed by the faith of some of the Gentiles that He met and often condemned the lack of faith that He saw in the House of Israel.  When a centurion came to him and requested that Jesus heal his servant without even going, Jesus “marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel” (Matt. 8:10).  When the “woman of Canaan” came begging Him to heal her daughter, He said, “O woman, great is thy faith” (Matt. 15:28).  On the other hand, when speaking to his disciples He said, “O ye of little faith” as He told them to not worry about how they would meet their needs as missionaries (Matt. 6:30).  When the disciples awoke him on the ship because they were afraid of the storm, He said, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” (Matt. 8:26).  When they were in another storm and Peter was attempting to walk on water, again Jesus asked Him, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matt. 14:31).  When the disciples failed to understand His words and thought He spoke of physical food when referring to the “leaven of the Pharisees” He again said to them, “O ye of little faith” (Matt. 16:8).  Jesus clearly was concerned about the level of faith that His followers were developing, and faith was much more important than lineage.  When some of the Pharisees were proud because Abraham was their father, He told them bluntly, “God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Matt. 3:9).  Being children of Abraham didn’t do them any good without faith and righteousness, and there will not be any special privileges for those who do not show forth faith in Jesus Christ, regardless of their heritage.  We must focus on developing the pure faith of the centurion and woman of Canaan, remembering that no matter who our ancestors are, the Lord expects great faith in us.