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 Sometimes we think of faith as a frail thing.  One moment, we feel God’s presence as strongly as if God were right by our side, but in the next it feels like God is a million miles away.  Faith, however, isn’t just something we feel, it’s something we do.  By putting your faith into action, you’ll find faith is one of the most powerful forces on earth.

 Maybe that sounds like an exaggeration to you, but you only have to look at your own pocketbook to see exactly what I mean.  Let me demonstrate.  Grab your wallet or your purse and take out any bill in any amount.  How much is that bill worth?  If there’s a one printed on it, it’s worth $1.  If there’s a twenty printed on it, it’s worth $20.  

 But what makes the one-dollar bill different from the twenty-dollar bill?  Is the paper the twenty-dollar bill is printed on better? Is the ink more valuable?  Of course not!  What makes a twenty-dollar bill more valuable, is you believe that it’s more valuable.  And not only that, but everyone around you also has to believe that it’s worth that amount. 

 In other words, our entire economic system is built on one fragile little thing: faith.  And yet that little bit of faith holds up the economies of entire countries! Maybe faith isn’t so fragile after all. 

Our Gospel reading on Sunday talks about the power of faith.  “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed,” Jesus told his disciples, “you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”  

 Kind of unbelievable right?  Kind of like believing this rectangular piece of paper in my pocket is worth more than the paper it’s printed on!  But it’s just as true with God as it is with economics.  Faith is an incredibly powerful thing. 

 What can faith do when we put it into action?  Lots.  Faith in God has helped build more than just the church.  Faith has helped create everything from hospitals to public education to social safety nets for people in poverty.  

 So what are you waiting for?  Why wait to put your faith into action?  Plant those seeds and see what grows next.