And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” the Lord said, “you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” Luke 17:4-6 CSB https://bible.com/bible/1713/luk.17.4-6.CSB

The disciples wanted more faith to do what God commanded. They did not believe they could do what He required. What did God require? Continuous forgiveness of those who ask for it from those who offend us regardless of how often they offend. This is how God treats us, for we continuously sin against Him in thought, word, and deed over the same matters. Jesus did not agree to their request but challenged them to exercise the faith they had. The smallest faith can make trees move, Jesus challenged. This is where we become confused. We think of faith as mental voodoo. We believe something, and then that something will appear or disappear like a tree moving into the ocean. This is not Biblical faith nor any faith Jesus is encouraging. Biblical faith is taking action that requires doing the things of God when we don’t want to, and everyone else fails as well. Forgiving seven times seems easier to believe than moving a tree into the ocean if faith is mental voodoo. Where trees are located is irrelevant; what is important is loving others and leading sinners to repent by forgiving and loving continuously. This is difficult work that requires death to ourselves and belief that this is indeed how God loves us and so we can love as He loves because His love is in us through the Holy Spirit. Faith is pushing ourselves to take action in matters that require death to our sinful nature and demonstrate to the world that we have indeed been born again. The world doesn’t care so much about what we believe, but they care much about how we love them. We believe, we have faith in God, when we understand to our core that God loves and demonstrates His love sacrificially and unconditionally. We have faith when we understand He requires His people to prove that faith by unconditionally and sacrificially loving others until all others love God also. This faith is harder but more possible than moving a tree into the sea.