Small Beginnings

When Small Means Big

While we might look at some things as small, God sees small things under the microscope of meaning and purpose.

He knew we would struggle with feeling small and insignificant.

I think that is why God emphasizes small things.

Today we are going to look at a story in

Mark 12:41-44 :

Mark 12:41–44 (NIV)

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.

42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.

44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

This widow dropped literally everything she had in the offering.

Why did God include this story in scripture?

Because things we might consider “useless” or “minor” have great worth in the eyes of God.

Romans 8:28 (NIV)

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

is often quoted when referring to deep-rooted trauma or when things are a mess.

Taking another look at Romans 8:28, let’s see what it says: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

The word all is important to note here.

Sometimes, I know I can downplay the things I do or feel.

But if God says all things, that includes the small details.

God emphasizes this often in the Bible about using small things, like a mustard seed of faith, a boy and his lunch being used to feed 5,000, and the story of Gideon.

If God is making and using so much out of what we see as small, I think it is important not to downplay His glory and power to use and make significant the “small” things.

Doing small things reminds us of how big God is.

He uses the small, humble, vulnerable and weak to achieve things for his glory.

We only have to look at a few Bible characters to see how this is true…

– MOSES was called by God out of obscurity to challenge Pharaoh and secure release of the Israelites from oppression. Moses himself said “who am I? I am slow of speech. Send someone else!”

– GIDEON was from the smallest family in the smallest tribe of Israel, yet God raised him up to be a great military leader

– JOSEPH was despised by his brothers and sold into slavery to the Egyptians. God rescued him from prison and lead to him a position as a senior official in Government. – DAVID was the youngest of 8 sons. He was given the job of shepherd boy that no-one else wanted left out in the fields tending sheep. God turned him to a giant killing King! God uses the small and insignificant

Much like the society of Jesus’ time, our world celebrates the biggest, the best, the rich powerful and successful.

You may feel insignificant and small compared to the rest of the world and it can seem like a daunting task to step out into the world and spread the Gospel.

Perhaps you feel that you don’t have anything to offer God.

Maybe you feel that this Kingdom building thing is not for you because you don’t have the right skills, or talents to really do anything great.

Maybe you’re suffering with a physical or mental illness, or you’re struggling financially, or you have family problems that seem insurmountable.

Maybe you feel like Moses when it comes to sharing your faith “send someone else”!

Perhaps your church holds back because you are small, you don’t have huge resources; Maybe you feel insignificant and ineffectual surrounded by a culture that is not really interested in knowing God.

None of these things are a hindrance to God!

God uses the small, weak, and unnoticed to achieve great things for his Kingdom.

God uses people like you and me.

He wants us to be Kingdom builders and not to hide away because we think we are too small or weak to achieve anything.

We follow an almighty God and King of all things and he can do anything through us!

Take encouragement from that and have faith that he will work through you!

He is using us to spread his Gospel.

We are called to do our part by planting the seed, being faithful in the small things, and obedient God.

When we give our small offering, God will use it for his glory and building his kingdom.

That is how God works!

1 Corinthians 1:25-31 outlines this quite clearly….

1 Corinthians 1:25–31 (NIV)

25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.

27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,

29 so that no one may boast before him.

30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Jesus started his ministry with 12 followers – not the top religious leaders of the day, but the ordinary people of society and in some cases the despised of society.

Jesus invested in his disciples. He taught and guided them and told them about the Kingdom of God, so that they could tell others and spread the gospel.

His death was not the end! Like the seed that has to be buried to grow, so Jesus was buried, but from the ground he rose to establish his Kingdom on earth.

By the time Jesus had returned to heaven there were around 120 devoted followers. From this point the Kingdom expanded, with 2000 coming to faith at Pentecost, and another 5000 not long afterwards.

Since then everywhere the seed has been planted those the Kingdom has spread as people come to know Jesus and give their lives to his service.

Patience and perseverance

It is important to realize that the mustard tree does not grow overnight It takes years to transform from a tiny seed to a huge tree.

Being a follower of Christ takes patience and perseverance and we may not even see the result of our efforts and blessing of the Kingdom of God in our lifetime.

However, we are still called to sow the seed and work towards building the Kingdom.

I think particularly in this day and age when life is so fast-paced and instant, it is difficult for us to be patient and wait for things.

I find myself getting irritated if my computer or phone doesn’t load up in less than a nanosecond! We expect everything to happen NOW!

Perhaps you are waiting for the fulfilment of something that God put on your heart years ago and it has yet to happen.

God doesn’t operate on our timescale and so often through the bible he makes people wait and instructs us to “be patient and wait on him”.

I’m not saying it’s easy, but it is well worth it and he is always faithful.

Hudson Taylor was a missionary in the late 19th Century to China.

He worked and poured his life into brining the gospel to China and spreading God’s kingdom there, but he saw little blessing for a long time.

He persevered for 50 years, though illness, loss of his wife, opposition from other church leaders and all manner of difficulties.

When he died in 1905 there were over 800 missionaries in China and 125,000 Christians.

It has only been in recent times that Christianity has exploded in China, as a result of the groundwork that Hudson Taylor did over a century ago.

It took Jesus 30 years on earth before he started his ministry.

You’d think God might have used a quicker method of delivering his message, but he doesn’t work like that, as we’ve seen.

If you feel that you are getting nowhere with your hard work in spreading the gospel, don’t be discouraged.

God has a plan to build his Kingdom and it will not fail! Keep going, because you don’t know when the breakthrough might come. Keep watering the seed in the ground because growth will come!