Little and Little part 3
Here's my thought for today: You have to start somewhere. And there's no place like the one you're in right now. No time like right this second. Look at Zechariah 4:10 in the NLT, "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand." Don't despise small beginnings. What's that old saying? The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. As long as you're moving forward, it doesn't really matter how fast you're going. You're learning and growing. Making mistakes, but learning from your mistakes. Starting where you are, with what you've got. And giving all you've got, and all you are. That's what this life is all about. Learning to love by learning HOW we are loved. Receiving and releasing the love of God. One step at a time. Because love is a consuming fire. It feeds on itself and grows and grows. Job 8:7 puts it like this, "Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase." In the NLT it goes like this, "And though you started with little, you will end with much." Remember Jesus' story about the Kingdom? "It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it" (Mark 4:32-33). The Kingdom is an ever-expanding Kingdom. Love consumes everything except itself. The Holy Ghost wildfire grows out of control. But it starts with a single spark. A single act of love. Stepping out in faith and releasing what's inside you. I used the cookie story as an example. That's a small beginning. But from that tiny mustard seed love began to grow. And grow. And grow. By little and little. And sometimes by leaps and bounds. And sometimes in fits and starts. Sometimes it feels like one step forward and two steps back. Sometimes it seems like nothing is happening at all. Sometimes it seems like, "What's the point?" But that's why I quoted that verse in Job. Because even if you start with little... and even if it seems to be growing slowly... you WILL end with much. Because what you're starting with is what you end with! Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body--is the Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end. So it might SEEM small at the beginning, but it's really the biggest thing there is. I've said it before, sometimes the least you can do is the most you can do. Sometimes it doesn't seem like much, but it's everything to someone who has nothing. We don't always seem to understand how powerful the little things are. Like a kind word in season. Or an ear to listen. A shoulder to cry on. These are things we can do. And these are things people desperately need. Knowing someone is there for them. Knowing someone cares. That's awesomely powerful. So don't despise small beginnings. The Lord rejoices to see the work begin. He's more interested in AVAILABILITY than ability. Showing up is a lot more than half the battle. The point of life is to live. And, you knew I was going to get here, to live is to love and to love is to live. So start small. Start right where you're at. But start!