Small Things
Do you remember having a necklace or paperweight that had a tiny mustard seed encased in glass? It was a reminder of Jesus’ words in Matthew 17:20,”truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” He was telling his followers that even a little faith in him and his love could make the impossible possible.
The same is true for a little love, especially love in action. I tend to think that its great acts of mission or service (going on a two-week mission trip to a remote place), or big acts of kindness (buying something for someone) or eloquent prayers that make the difference in love in the world. Most of the time in Scripture, though, Jesus is moving among or ahead of crowds of people with a healing word, a short story or teaching, a touch of hand or an unexpected kindness. Sometimes he stops to listen to the hurts of one person, focusing his attention on their needs. The Scripture is made up of hundreds of small acts of love that bind together to help us know about God’s love in Jesus Christ.
Our current sermon series is called, What the Bible Says About Love. This week we focus on Love in Action. Often when we tackle that topic it is about mission trips (a good thing) or upcoming big projects. This time, though, we’ll look at how daily acts of love come together to create a community of God’s grace. As one person said in a small group the other day, “What if we all just showed love to each other?”
Our 2020 stewardship campaign is also focused on What the Bible Says About Love. Unlike some churches, St. Mark’s does not have one or two large donors who carry the budget for the rest of us. Our giving is made up of hundreds of small, medium sized, and large gifts which, taken together as gifts of love, make it possible for us to provide for staff and pastors, programs, missions, campus maintenance and more. It takes all of us to offer our gifts of varying sizes. Thank you in advance for prayerfully considering your commitment for 2020.
See you in worship! Blessings, Sharon