Pastor's Column 1/15/2023

PASTOR’S COLUMN

“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, NIV

“Greatness In Small Things!”

In a small obscure print shop in Covina California, four men thought of a way the Christian message could be shared to the world. One idea was to design and print cards for all occasions, which celebrated special days, and the important rituals of life. That tiny commercial shop in 1971, became the birthplace of what would be known as DaySpring Cards. The four men wanted to make sure that the Christian faith they possessed was shared with the world. Recently, I purchased one of their products and noticed a byline beneath the trade name; it simply read, “Live your faith.” I thought, if those men had decided to be silent about the faith they claimed, many people would have been deprived of simple, compelling messages of faith, love, and hope, that changed the trajectory of their lives. Thinking back some 94 years ago, a Christian mother went into labor in her modest bedroom, and gave birth to a son. When the baby arrived, he was so silent they feared he was still-born. Moments later, that seemed like an eternity, the baby cried, and was named Michael. His official name was later changed to Martin Luther King. From that tiny venue a child was born, destined to be a great preacher, with a powerful prophetic witness. In 1797, D. Everett said, “Large streams from little fountains flow. Tall oaks from little acorns grow.” Our obsessive world of largeness and quantity, deprives a person of witnessing and appreciating the great miracles God sends in small ways. A new generation mocked the size of the new Temple after the exile, only to be warned by the prophet they were premature and naïve in their estimation of things. The words of the parable Jesus told are still true: Be faithful over a few things; become ruler over many things.” Start where you are, and attain more!