Small Things

by R. Darke, Victoria, B.C. | Category: General | Jan 1980

Christians, above all others, should be able to appreciate the great importance of small things, made and used so much by our Creator. It is interesting to notice in Scripture the element of smallness in many of the divine miracles. Examples include the manna: "behold upon the face of the wilderness a small round thing, small as the hoar frost upon the ground" (Exod. 16:14), typical no doubt of the Bread of Life seen in the 'Lord at His birth in Bethlehem (the house of bread).

In Elijah's day a little cake was made for him by a widow from her small resources of a little oil and a handful of meal. She thought her gesture would empty the barrel and the cruse for good, but her faithful willingness resulted in the divine promise: "The barrel of meal shall not waste (cease, finish, end), neither shall the cruse of oil fail (decrease), until the day that the LORD sendeth rain..." (1 Kin. 17:14). Elijah, the widow, and her son fed from the same cruse and barrel many days (v.15). The testimony of a little maid led to the miraculous cleansing of Naaman the leper (2 Kin. 5); The sacrifice of a little boy enabled the Lord Jesus to feed miraculously more than five thousand people with five barley loaves and two small fish (John 6:9 AV).

God has made for us a brain, a comparatively small organ of the human body whose function and complexity confound the greatest of minds. Scientists tell us that the brain has ten million nerve cells for recording things we learn. "The information travels inside us at speeds of up to 300 miles per hour over a network of nerve fibres 100,000 miles long" states one report. Time fails us to write of the miracle of the tiny dew drop, the blade of grass, the wheat kernel, the ant; all wonderful examples of God's purpose in small things. But certain spiders deserve special mention for they were recently responsible for creating a phenomenon in the U.S.A. which puzzled many people. When they wish to migrate, families of spiders weave huge webs, some 20 feet long, and use them to float to their destinations.

In similar strain, Agur the son of Jakeh was impressed by the wisdom of four things which are little upon the earth (Prov. 30:24-28). We too may gain much wisdom in considering God's ways in taking up very small things for the progress of His great purposes.

R. Darke, Victoria, B.C. | Jan 1980
General