Mustard Seed Faith

"O ye of little faith..."  Is that a compliment? 

Matthew 17:20 "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." 

Luke 17:6 "And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." 

Is mustard seed faith equivalent to little or small faith?

In the above verses, Jesus does not say, "faith as small as a mustard seed."  He says, "faith as a grain of mustard seed" which can be read as "like a grain of mustard seed." Just to backtrack a little, The above verses follow passages that suggest the disciples are struggling with their faith; therefore, they cannot accomplish the work that they are asked to do.  It is important to note that Jesus never uses the phrase "o ye of little faith" in a complementary tone, so does it make sense for Him to say, "if you had faith as small as a mustard seed."  Second if faith is a gift of God, then claiming little or small faith seems to be making little of that gift which leads to salvation. Third, unlike wisdom, which the bible says you can ask for if you are lacking, you need faith to even ask for faith. Why? Because one aspect of faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the act of asking God for faith is an indication that one has faith.
So what about faith as a mustard seed? The Bible teaches that the mustard seed is the least of all seeds in the field, but it also grows to be the greatest among herbs.  

Matt 13:31-32 "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof."  Therein lies the faith of a mustard seed.
The faith/hope of a mustard seed is that it will grow to be the greatest of herbs in the fields and provide shelter for some of God's creation. It's assurance comes from the fact that that is what God created mustard seeds to do.  What have you been created to do?

Eph 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
Mustard seed faith is trusting God to keep the promises that He has revealed in His word, even if that means moving mountains. And it does not have to be right now. The mustard seed is not the greatest among herbs as a seed. What does God's word say about moving mountains...

Revelation 6:14b And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Revelation 8:8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; 

The mustard seed, from the least to the greatest, that topic has come up before and it is the story of Jesus. Born in a stable, risen from the dead, and now sitting at the right hand of the Father.

Heb 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Faith is ... the assurance of things hoped for...