"Little Things"

Jesus said, "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'” (Matthew 25:31-40 NASB).

As I was reading through the end of Matthew’s gospel I came to our reading today. I began to think of the countless little things that I experience each day. You know; things like a beautiful sunset, a child's smile, a delicious meal, a restful night's sleep, or an encouraging word. It’s so easy for me to take for granted the little things. All of us are like that. However, when we pause and reflect on them and realize how much they make up our days we usually have a better appreciation of how much the little things really matter. Some of the little things happen to us and some of them we do for others. Both are essential as a part of the process we call the Christian walk.

The big things in life like jobs, relationships, birth, sickness and death, these get our attention with good reason. It's not surprising. These things affect us on a deep level, whether life threatening or life-changing. But, it's how we handle the little things in life that help us deal with the big things.

Jesus is talking about handling these “little things.” Part of living in a daily relationship with God is accepting the help that He gives us. If we are turning to the Holy Spirit then help is always there. It's interesting that Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter and Helper. He promised this help would be available for us in all things. That means the big and the little things.

Little things add up. Try to live life aware of your moments. Be involved in the little things and watch your life change. That end result, living a life dedicated to God and loving and serving others as Jesus taught, is a VERY big thing.