Author and Perfecter of Faith

by: Carole ( aka Elora C.) Haines 

The secret of the Christian life is not to have great faith in God. Did not Jesus recognize the smallness of belief when He said, “O, you of little faith?” (Matthew 14:31) The secret is to have faith in a great God. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Might; when you realize His great strength and the great things He can do for you, your faith will be strengthened to believe in far greater things. Don’t just pray for greater faith, pray for understanding of God; then you can have greater faith. (Prime Time with God Devotional, 9/18/20) 

The truth expressed in this quote from one of my favorite devotionals really struck me this morning. I realized that so often, I put the focus of faith on me and my ability to “have faith,” rather than on God who is source of all faith. Jesus is called the “Author and Perfecter of faith.” He is to be my focus, not the faith itself. 
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:1-2) 

I had never considered that before. Am I placing too much thought on my own faith, or am I fully fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of it? The word, author means:  chief leader, prince, captain.  
I cannot follow my captain if I am looking down at my own feet of faith. I must fix my eyes on the one who is the source and creator of my faith. I need to trust Him with my faith, which is often as small as a mustard seed. But Jesus tells us the Parable of a Mustard Seed Faith: 

The Mustard Seed 

³¹ He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; ³² and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”  
(Matthew 13:31-32) 

Jesus is not only my Captain of Faith, He is its perfecter. The word, perfecter, means: completer, consummator, finisher.  
This word occurs nowhere else in the Bible. Jesus creates, sustains, perfects and finishes my faith. I shouldn’t try to conjure faith from the empty recesses of my own self. Sometimes I do this to try to show God how much I trust Him or love Him. But I must always and only fix my eyes on Jesus, gaze in wonder at His amazing love and faithfulness. This is the Key to peace and joy in the Christian Life.