Small Things Matter

Galatians 6:9-10

I was thinking about the Easter Season the other day when a childhood memory flooded into my mind. I grew up in a non-Christian family, but my parents did send me to Sunday School at the local church for a while when I was little because they thought it “might do me some good”. Unfortunately, they didn’t let me attend for very long, but I remember how much I used to enjoy the classes and the Bible stories. The woman who taught the class was very kind, and I remember the delight on her face whenever I answered a question correctly as if I had understood what few do! It’s funny what you remember.

 

It was something that happened around Easter that year that I remembered so vividly. We had spent time in class talking about how we are all separated from God because of our sin and that try as we might we could never live up to God’s Holy standards. I was shocked to learn that the punishment for sin was death … not just physical death, but spiritual separation from the presence of God forever because we owed a debt that we could not pay.

 

But then she talked of Christ’s love for us and how He came to save us. Jesus was put to death through no fault of His own. He willingly went to the cross and died in our place so that we might be reconciled to God the Father. She declared that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, proving that sin and death had been defeated and that He lives forever as the loving Savior of those who believe in Him.

 

After the lesson was over she told us to go and look outside by the door of the old church and there nestled up against the rough stones of the building, someone had created a small but beautiful scene. I can still vividly recall that it was a beautiful garden with tiny delicate plants. In the middle of the garden, there was a hill covered in bright green moss and within the hill, there seemed to be a cave with a smooth round stone door that had been rolled to the side. It was a tiny illustration of Christ’s empty tomb and there was a small hand-painted sign nearby that proclaimed the Scripture from Luke 24:6 “He is not here; he has risen!”

 

It amazes me that all these many years later I still clearly remember that day and especially the artistic creation nestled outside the entrance to the church. God used it to touch my heart and though I surely forgot about that message growing up, I do remember it now and I can still see the picture of that garden in my mind and I remember the joy it made me feel. I wonder if the person who had gone to the trouble of making that display ever imagined the way that God would use their artistry to speak to the heart of a small girl?

 

We may never know of all the lives God has touched because of our small, faithful acts of service but Galatians 6:9-10 encourages us: “ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

 

So, whether you can see the fruit of your labor for God’s Kingdom right now or not, don’t give up, you never know the effect you might have on someone’s heart if not now, then later!

 

Blessings on your day!

Michele