Tiny Greatness (Why You Shouldn’t Worry About the Small)

We often make fun of people and things that are tiny.

That car is awfully tiny. Does it come with a clown?

 He’s very short, but at least he’s always looking up!

 She’s so tiny she’s the last to get rained on and the first to drown.

And the bad jokes roll on.

Whether it’s a person, a house, a church, or a diamond—size seems to matter to most.

In one of my favorite books, People of the Second Chance, the author, Mike Foster, uses a phrase that caught my attention, “tiny greatness.”

Foster writes, “There is a special category of human activities: tiny greatness. Holiness in the small, unsuspecting work of our hands. A massive flow of Jesus spilling out in barely noticed actions.”

The idea is that we must never underestimate the value of doing small, and often unnoticed, acts of kindness for others.

Apparently, Jesus valued the small as well.

He once pointed out a very small offering by a widow, and used her sacrifice as a model for all.

Jesus used a boy’s meager lunch to feed thousands.

He pointed out the tiniest of seeds, the mustard seed, and reminded people to watch and see what God will do in His Kingdom from small beginnings.

Then, of course, there were the times he used a small child as an example of true greatness.

Let’s own it; we have a nasty habit of judging the value or potential impact of something or someone based on size.

God, on the other hand, delights in using the small, the tiny, the insignificant, by human standards, to do great things.

From David, to Gideon, to a young teenage girl named Mary, God has revealed His desire to use the young and the weak.

From five smooth stones, to five barley loaves of bread and two small fish, God has demonstrated again and again what He can do with almost nothing.

All that is required of us is to surrender what we have and who we are into His hands.

Matter of fact, the only thing Jesus can’t use is a tiny heart.

“Do not despise these small beginnings,

for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”

Zechariah 4:10 (NLT)

 

Kurt Bubna

Kurt W. Bubna has published seven books, is an internationally recognized blogger, conference and retreat speaker, as well as an experienced life and leadership coach. Bubna has over forty years of experience working with individuals, teams, and a wide variety of business and non-profit organizations.

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Chris Haeder

    And an unfortunate antithesis to your great, positive examples; “Beware the leaven of the Pharisees”; “A little leaven leavens the whole lump”. As in, a small amount of negative influence or a “small” sin unconfessed can grow to have a large impact.

    In Christ,

    Chris

  2. Momma

    Thank you Father!

  3. Martha Orlando

    How I love how God continually uses the seemingly small and insignificant things to get our attention in a big way. It always reminds me never to underestimate the power of the simplest gesture done in love and kindness.
    Blessings, Kurt!

    1. KurtBubna

      So true and well said, Martha.Thank you!

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