“Product sold by weight, not volume. Contents may settle during shipping.” The consumer notice itself is evidence that people have felt cheated finding the top third of their newly opened cereal box’s wax paper liner void of flakes, puffs, or biscuits. Despite first impressions, the full value of the product’s weight—flavor, convenience, nutrition—is unchanged by the space it does or does not occupy in the box.
Faith and faithfulness are inseparable in scripture. One word in Hebrew (אֱמוּנָה emunah) means both, just as in Greek (πίστις pistis). The fact that Habakkuk 2:4 (“…the righteous shall live by his faith[fulness]”) comes into the first chapter of Romans one way and the tenth chapter of Hebrews the other only emphasizes that belief entails commitment; or in the language of the hymn, that we trust and obey.
We tend to measure the value of faith(fulness) by volume. How long? How often? How much? Or even, how great a result? Clearly, the Lord does not. Everyone knows the disciples lack something when they cannot exorcise a demon. But Jesus says volume is not the issue: faith settled to a grain of mustard seed is all they need.
To history, every day of the Bethlehem shepherds’ lives is void except the one in which they believe and follow the angels’ announcement. A month later, the full volume of delayed decades condenses into one day of faithfulness for Anna and Simeon as Mary brings Jesus to the temple. (Perhaps this devotional is not the time to make my point by volume; that is, by the number of examples I can give. So I desist.)
The fullness of life™—our full weight and value to God—is in our obedience to him. Whether days are packed with obvious purposes or void of anything measurable, obedience guarantees life fully weighted to his perfect will.
To a week trusting God to fill the world with our faith’s tiny grain.