The Little Things of Life
“[Jesus] said therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches’” (Luke 13:18-19).
Recently, we celebrated Confirmation Sunday here at Calvary. Eleven of our youth stood before the congregation to affirm their baptismal faith in Jesus Christ and to pledge their faithfulness to Him. Like so many other Confirmation services, it was truly a blessing to be a part—pews filled with supportive and proud families, powerful songs of praise sung by the congregation, and joy-filled words of promise spoken over the bright futures that God has in store for these young people. It truly is one of the highlights of my year within the church calendar. But… (there always has to be a ‘but’ doesn’t there) … But…it gets me thinking of all the other days in our faith journey that aren’t filled with the pomp and circumstance of Confirmation day. We rightly emphasize this day within the lives of our young people, but what about the many other important days within our faith life that go by unnoticed. Each and every day we are invited to affirm our faith in Jesus Christ, as we enjoy the daily blessings.
Too often we only get excited about those life events that are going to make the “highlight reel.” You know, the moments of our lives that stand out as exciting, different, and perhaps even life changing. But what about the thousands of little decisions that never get noticed or celebrated. Jesus calls us to a theology of “little things” when long ago he compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed. He stressed the fact that God’s kingdom comes in our world and in our life in little ways that we will never even notice unless we are looking. If we are always looking for the “next big thing”, then we might miss out on what God is doing right here and right now.
As important as Confirmation Day may be within the life of a young Christian and his or her family, I’m convinced that it is the “little” decision to affirm their faith in Jesus by coming to church the next week and the week after that, which will determine the much BIGGER outcome of that faith.
- What do you remember from your Confirmation Day or from your religious upbringing?
- How has your faith changed and grown over the years?
- What do you wish you knew then that you know now?
- Where is God inviting you TODAY to take a “little” step of faith under His care?
Eugene H. Peterson once said, “The culture conditions us to approach people and situations as journalists: see the big, exploit the crisis, edit and abridge the commonplace, interview the glamorous. But the Scriptures and our best pastoral traditions train us in a different approach: notice the small, persevere in the commonplace, appreciate the obscure.” Where is God inviting you today to consider the “little blessings” or “little opportunities” in life?
God’s Peace,
Pastor Kurt Ebert
