Tiny, mustard-seed-size faith can move mountains. Here is Jesus’ vivid word picture, proverbial for overcoming great challenges. Jesus did not say, “You need giant faith!” No, tiny faith will do. Jesus’ followers need true faith, rightly rooted with deep, personal trust that heartily expects God to work! For all our endeavors—big and small—he calls us to develop more robust, substantive faith. As Jesus’ disciples today, we need growing, flourishing faith in the face of our everyday opportunities and obstacles. 

Several years ago, I was fully engaged in a fresh entrepreneurial project. We had raised substantial funds, assembled a talented team, and jumped out of the gate with great gusto. Soon, all the typical stressors started hitting us, and I wondered, “Is our little bit of faith, our big expressions of love, and our passion for the kingdom mission making any real difference? Really?” 
I bet you’ve wondered too. Maybe it was about your quick phone call or text to check in with a client. Or that little bit of extra financial investment. Or even those small but steady steps of faithful care for a coworker. All of these things were just little holy risks in response to God’s whispers and nudges toward a new opportunity.
Jesus’ View on Little Faith
Christ actually saw “little faith” from two vantage points. In Luke 12:28 (ESV), Jesus aimed to squash anxiety: “But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!” 
From one point of view, Jesus was saying, “Quit your little heart habits of jumbled, tangled worry. Instead, deeply trust our Father’s great provision!” 
But ponder Christ’s other point of view. In Jesus’ teaching, “little faith” is not simply admonished and discouraged. When leveraged to the positive, Christ encourages little faith. Seed-size faith can work wonders in his heavenly kingdom. 
In Matthew 17 (ESV), the disciples were puzzled over their inability to cast out a demon. They asked Jesus why. In verse 20, Jesus responded: “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
We should all take heart. If such a faith conundrum was true for the original apprentices of Jesus, it should not surprise us when we experience our own faith struggles.
Jesus spoke of their “little faith,” but his issue was not really their quantity of faith. Instead, the issue was lack of quality. They had feeble faith; it was superficial, lacking solid substance. We know quality of faith was Jesus’ focus, because here in the same breath, he praises just a small quantity, like a mustard seed. 
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We can expect new life to spring up in a new garden. And we can anticipate the coming restoration of all things someday in that Garden City, New Jerusalem (Revelation 21-22 ESV). Isn’t it ironic? The death of death emerged in the life-giving environment of a garden! The ultimate new human, the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45-49 ESV) was raised to life, and not just anywhere. In a garden. 

Bright daffodils and green grass are rising. Spring has eagerly sprung where I live. People in our region are buzzing about this upward emergence of warm, plant life from previously cold, dead ground. Neighbors are already mowing and mulching. Springtime is rising in tandem with Eastertime. It’s truly glorious!
I am compelled to revisit ancient words, God’s inspiring story of resurrection. Easter’s true meaning supplies more than all the feel-goods of bright baskets, eggs, and flowers. Travel biblical trails and encounter solid answers to age-old questions puzzled over by humans.
Why are we here? What are we made for?
Is death really the end? If not, what can we anticipate after death?
Might resurrection have any real implications for daily tasks and business endeavors?
There is an oft-overlooked detail in the resurrection morning story. It’s a curious inclusion that holds potential for answering these questions. It might also bolster our faith at work.
Christ’s Grave & Resurrection in a Garden
Appearing only in John’s Gospel, we might readily miss it: “At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid” (Jn. 19:41 ESV).
It’s tempting to say, “No big deal, really. The Apostle John was just setting the stage.” However, he very intentionally emphasized the garden, mentioning it twice. Biblical authors were quite purposeful. Whenever we encounter repetition in their stories, we should pause to consider why. In addition to mentioning the garden, Mary Magdalene initially mistook Jesus for “the gardener” (Jn. 20:14-15 ESV).
John’s worldview and his faithful following of Jesus was deeply affected by Genesis. Opening lines in John 1:1-5 (ESV) include picturesque language, like in the beginning, darkness, light, and life—key terms and themes first used in Genesis’ early scenes.
So why would John spotlight the tomb in a garden on resurrection morning?
Garden and Graves at the Beginning
God deliberately planted Adam and Eve in a garden. In Eden, the first humans were responsible for working in the garden (Gen. 2:15 ESV). Following their fall into sin, the curse delivered ugly consequences for daily labors (Gen. 3:17-18 ESV). These consequences culminated in death. Humans would now return to the dust, the same earthy soil from which they were formed. There would be graves. A further devastating outcome included the humans being expelled, barred from that place of flourishing (Gen. 3:19-24 ESV).
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