“Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?”

• Zechariah 4:10

But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy.

• Ezra 3:12

‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?

• Haggai 2:3

There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small.

• Psalm 104:25

“Great moments and exciting adventures come to very few of us. Life is made up of small, inconsequential things. And because small things usually are routine and trivial, we tend to come to regard them as being unimportant and humdrum. Many of us even chafe at them.

“The quotation from Zechariah is a piercing question, one that each of us should ask ourselves. God holds us accountable also for the small things which go to make up our lives. Small things enter into God’s judgment and can be the difference between a firm faith in our Lord and Saviour or one that wavers and as a result often spells the difference between having God’s wonderful blessings bestowed upon us or from having them withheld.
“Constant concern must be given to our great responsibilities. Good stewardship may well depend upon the care and faithfulness with which we discharge our responsibility in the small things we face in our day to day living.”

• Roy Z. Kemp, Measure for Living

Boilerplate

In this new mini-series, I found an old book of mine in my wife’s things.  I did not know that she had it, but she loved collecting inspirational poems.  She had a knack for skimming over the subject matter that the Sunday school class would discuss.  Then she would thumb through the poetry and devotional books on the shelf and seemingly pick one at random.  Then she would open the book to a seemingly random page and read a prayer or two.  Then she would nod her head and place a bookmark at what she had found.  Then after the Sunday school class had wandered around the subject, going down various rabbit holes along the way, she would end the class with the poem and a short prayer.  And the poem seemed to summarize what we had talked about, even the side trails down rabbit holes.  It fit so perfectly every time.

I do not think she ever quoted this book, but it was a keepsake.  I had never read it.  The inscription in the front of the book states, “It has been a joy to have had you this year.  It has been a friendship I will cherish.”  It was signed by the woman who lived next door to my mother’s mother.  She taught piano and organ.  I took organ lessons.

Do not ask me to play anything on the piano.  I learned by gently gliding over the keys, not by striking them.  And after 55+ years of not practicing, I would be lost after a few bars of Swingin’ Shepherd Blues.

Discussion

The author takes some liberties with the quote from Zechariah.  The verses from Ezra and Haggai are speaking of the grandeur of the Solomon temple versus the smaller footprint of the Zerubbabel temple.

Thus, in context, the stones laid of the foundation were small things compared to what once was.  But having something is better than having only ruins.

I am reminded of a comedy routine by Ken Davis.  He asked the audience if anyone has a dog.  Someone shouts out that they had a Chihuahua (I think).  Ken says, “That’s not a dog?!”  Someone else suggests a German Shepherd, and Ken starts his routine about the big husky dog that is intimidating.  Then, to not totally “offend” the Chihuahua owner, he suggests that one time, a Chihuahua killed a German Shepherd.  He goes on and on, getting distrusting faith in the crowd as to what he means.  Then he says, “Yeah, when the German Shepherd tried to eat the Chihuahua, it got caught in the German Shepherd’s throat.”

But that Chihuahua could tower over a mouse.  It is all a matter of perspective.

When we see the value of doing the small things, those small things are bigger in our way of thinking because they have value.

I have mentioned the guy throwing sand dollars back into the sea.  Hundreds wash ashore all the time.  But it matters to the one sand dollar that now has a second chance.

We do not know which homeless person can become a famous musician or a great actor.  But helping a man onto his feet, or a woman, is a small thing that has the potential to be a great thing.  And even if they barely get by, it made a difference to the one.

Jesus commands us to love.  He offers parables on how that love can be visualized.

It is up to us to put that love into action.

The photo above is of my SUV parked in front of my house.  A woman, who had once been a member of the Sunday school class where I teach, had a greenhouse business with a landscaping business on the side.  They changed churches due to their daughters wanting a different youth group experience.

The landscapers were from Central America somewhere, usually back there in the winter months.  They had probably never seen snow before.

She texted me and said the landscaping crew was coming to the house to shovel me out of the deep freeze a month ago.  Two guys, thirty minutes, never knocked on the door, never asked for a tip, but suddenly I had a reason to risk getting the car stuck in a 2-ft deep drift in the backyard in order to have freedom. Note: Average depth was about 10-11inches, high enough for the bumper to act as a snowplow.  All just in time to teach Sunday school, attend a church business meeting and make a doctor’s appointment.

At the time of this writing, there is no prediction of a day above freezing in the next ten days.  Two young guys with snow shovels, a small thing that provides great benefit.

Thank you, landscapers.

Praise the Lord!

Closing Prayer

“When God grants us
The opportunity
To take the measurements
Of a man,
We put our tape
Around his waist for size
Of girth,
We measure arms for length,
Inseam to ankle
For the length of leg.

God does it differently.
He does not care
About the size of waist,
The length of leg or arm.
God only wants to know One thing:
How really big the man is.
So, His tape is used to measure
Just one thing:
The heart.”

• Roy Z. Kemp, Measure for Living (Measurements)

“Father, guide me.  Help me feel the poetry.  I am grateful to have friends who care.  I have benefited from people who show love by doing things.  My wife has been gone three years, but I am not alone.  When love is shown to others, often love is returned in kind.  It is strange being on the receiving end, but Lord, I can still help.  Show me the ways in which my efforts can help others, in writing, in encouraging, in lending a helping hand, in a simple greeting, in a phone call to a friend I have not heard from in a while.  Small things can become large because You, oh Lord, are the multiplier of all good things.  In Thy Name I pray.
“Amen”

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.