The Faith of a Mustard Seed

This is a 12x12 painting I did years ago (acrylic on masonite).  The little figure in the corner is a replica of a man I glued together in "real-life" from a pen cap, black marble, a key ring, two nails and two small pieces of dried pasta.  He represents me.  The apple is sin and I'm cornered.

Here my little man, representing me, is perched on top of a bottle of mustard (12x12 acrylic on masonite).  In the Bible's book of Matthew 17:20, Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
So I paint myself on a whole bottle of mustard, commanding the mountains to move, because in my life, this is how I feel.  I have deep, strong, loads-of-mustard-faith.

Now here I am in the collision of my reality (12x18 acrylic on masonite).  Mustard is faith and my head is covered in it.  The bottle of mustard is spilling on the table; however, the apple is sin, and I've eaten it.  I even went so far as to eat it covered in mustard.  How can we have such great faith; faith that can move mountains, and yet continue to sin?  The Apostle Paul breaks it down pretty well in the book of Romans.  

Romans 7:15-25

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

 ²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

I sold these three paintings at an art show in Dallas a few years ago, but I keep the images of them on my computer as a reminder to keep striving toward Christ and away from the apple.  I really can't think of something more disgusting than eating an apple with mustard.  Can you?