Little things sometimes turn out to be a lot. Years ago I read a story by an unknown author (likely apocryphal) that illustrates how big a little thing can turn out to be. The story is about a physician vacationing in the Cumberland Mountains many years ago. While hiking he happened upon a cabin where a little girl was playing outside. The doctor asked the child for a drink of water. She gave him a glass of water and then said, "Would you like to have a glass of cold milk, too?" The doctor said yes. She retrieved it for him and after drinking it, he offered to pay for it. "The girl said, "No, thank you, sir. We like to share." Two years later the little girl fell dangerously ill and was taken to a hospital in a large city a hundred miles away. She underwent a difficult but successful operation. The parents were very poor and worried about the bill. The day came for their little girl to leave the hospital. They were handed a bill for $3,000 that was marked, ‘PAID IN FULL by a glass of water and a glass of cold milk." Hmm – seems I remember somewhere a Man who was always giving who taught His disciples, "And whoever gives a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."
One of the biggest lies the devil wants us to believe is that because we can’t so some big thing, then we can’t make a difference. But when God is brought into a situation, even seemingly small things become great big things. An incident in Jesus’ ministry recorded in Matthew 14:13-21 proves the point. There Jesus miraculously fed a vast multitude. According to verse 21, "... about five thousand men, besides women and children." It is not unreasonable to suggest the Lord likely fed around 15,000 people that day! In a "deserted" or remote area (vs 13)! Incredibly, there were leftovers. Verse 20 says, "So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained." Equally amazing, verse 17 states that the multiplied thousands were fed with "only five loaves and two fish."
John’s account of the incident (John 6:8-9), highlights our slowness to trust Christ’s amazing power to take our little and make a lot. John tells us Andrew, Peter’s brother, told Jesus, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" The key words to the whole incident are in Matthew 14:18 where Jesus said (concerning the little dab of bread and fish they had), "Bring them here to Me."
Let’s make the application. We are living through a difficult moment. The coronavirus disease requires "social distancing" and a high degree of isolation from each other. But, as one man has said, "Social distance does not have to mean social disengagement." There are "little" things we can do. Practice kindness. Smile. Share. Be patient. Pray for doctors and nurses and first responders and political leaders.
Practice "spiritual nearness"! In the name of Christ, pick up the phone and call a shut-in or neighbor or elderly person. Send a text. Write a note. Don’t waste energy fearing what is going to happen. Don’t fret about what you can’t do. Determine what you can no matter how small it may seem. Stay busy doing what you can where you are with what you have. And take heart, Christian. God is bigger than the coronavirus. Trust that God is near, and that He will take your little things and make them mean a lot. Think of something little you can do and do it now!
by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN
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