One Small Act of Love

In the Gospel of Mark (4:26-34), Jesus tells the crowds that the kingdom of God is like a seed scattered on the ground. And it grows on its own. In fact, it is like a tiny Mustard seed, tiny but once started, it has a way of taking over everything else. It’s like Kudzu, small – but it is unstoppable.

What’s clear in this series of parables is that the results are beyond our control. If a seed grows at all, it grows on its own timetable, you can’t force it. Sometimes people will respond, sometimes they won’t. Sometimes we’ll see the fruit of our work – but sometimes we won’t. But like the sower, our job is to keep sowing. Keep throwing those seeds out, and trusting that God is at work even in the little things… because you never know.

I was recently reading about a food drive in a school in rural Appalachia. A volunteer was sorting through the donated food, separating beans from powdered milk, and canned vegetables from canned meats. When he reached into a box filled with various cans, he pulled out a little brown paper sack. Out of the paper bag fell a peanut butter sandwich, an apple, and a cookie, items that were not on the suggested list. Crayoned in large letters was a little girl’s name, “Christy: Room 104.” Apparently, while at school, Christie felt moved to give up her lunch for someone who was truly hungry.

And you can just imagine! When the story got out about Christie’s contribution, donations to that food drive skyrocketed! One small act of love by a child inspired countless others…

Archbishop and 20th Century Martyr Oscar Romero once wrote: 

This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything and
there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest.

Loving God, we don’t often see the results of our small actions. But we pray today that you would take whatever it is that have to offer. Bless and multiply every dollar given, every hour volunteered, every sacrifice made. May these be seeds of your eternal kingdom. In Christ’s name. Amen.