Matthew 17:14-20 | Rev. Dr. R. Brandon Harris | Faith involves an understanding and trust in what God is doing. Because we believe that God is present and active in relationship to us, God is ever and always doing new things. Faith, therefore, evolves, develops, and changes in relationship to circumstances. For the early Christians, this was especially true. Firmness and steadfastness in faith required a robust engagement and discernment with God's presence in their lives as God was giving them a new covenant and calling them to new life. Faith in such circumstances was open to questions, to evaluation, and to "testing" (i.e., experimentation that proves/confirms).