The God of small things

There are days when the to-do list does not feel very exciting. Weeks when the things calling for our attention feel deeply mundane.

That pile of emails, that piece of bureaucracy, that message that needs passing on – hardly cutting-edge ministry, just stuff that needs to be done. Many of us would prefer to spend our time on things that feel more strategic, more impactful – after all, what eternal fruit comes from signing some cards, chatting about refreshments or filling in a form? But take a closer look at God’s word and we see the little things of life can be filled with meaning and value; they are the context in which much can be transformed.

Small is mandated

God cares about the small things. More than that, He calls people to ensure they get done. In the Old Testament, the Levites had the privilege of being priests. The headline tasks were all about performing sacrifices – being people who pointed to the coming of the ultimate sacrificial Lamb. But, along the way, God set aside Levites for rather less headline roles. There was the priest in charge of baking bread, the man set aside for counting utensils, the one in charge of mixing spices, even the one with the responsibility for looking after the flour. And these weren’t the young priests learning the ropes, these were all heads of families, leaders who served in important but less than impressive ways (1 Chron. 9:28-34). In the New Testament, we find men – full of the Spirit and known for their wisdom – set aside to oversee food distribution (Acts 6). Stephen, one of these men, was martyred for his faith but his main role was sorting food for the widows.