After church on Sunday, a friend and I
went to another church in our denomination.
They were celebrating their 100th
anniversary.
Being that this church was about 45
minutes away, we were delighted to celebrate this milestone with
them.
It was wonderful catching up with some
old friends.
It was equally wonderful making new
ones.
After a meal was served, everyone made
their way into the sanctuary.
There, a worship service was held.
Hymns were sung and prayers were
offered up God.
There were several speakers including
clergy, community leaders and members.
Each spoke about this church, its
mission or its 100 year history.
One of the speakers is a personal
friend of mine and is currently serving our denomination as
president.
His message was brief but it resonated
deep within me.
He spoke about the size of this church.
My friend then reminded us that God
often makes excellent use of small numbers.
One of the examples my friend cited was
how Jesus fed 5,000 with just five barley loaves and two fish.
He also cited Gideon's army and told us
that God reduced the size of that army first from 32,000 to 10,000.
He then reminded us
that God reduced the size of the army once again this time from
10,000 to 300.
It was with the 300 man army that God gave victory to Gideon.
As I stated before, this message resonated within me.
I thought about the Sunday School class I teach and how it has
decreased in numbers through time.
I thought about the Senior Assembly I help to lead which has also
decreased in numbers.
As my friend spoke, I realized something.
I remembered from my study of chemistry how a solution containing
water becomes stronger as the water in it evaporates away.
In a similar way, as the number of believers within a particular
group diminishes, shouldn't the concentration of its collective faith should
also rise?
I am grateful to God for the message He placed on my friend's heart.
I am also grateful to God for the realization He awakened in
mine.
It is said that good things come in small packages.
In matters of faith, great things can come in small packages as well.
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
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