So much, with so little
The words echo in my mind.
It was one of those moments that I don't think will be easily forgotten. The kind of moment and conversation that sticks with you for a long time - if not a lifetime.
Over the past few days I have been in Kolkata, India. It is my second time here. This city is unlike any other place in the world that I have been to. I can sense the stirring in my heart for the people and the work that Life Center has been a part of for decades.
The past few days have been filled with the sights, sounds and smells that leave a mark on you. From seeing the work in Mercy Hospital, visiting schools and medical clinics, hearing the stories and meeting the people who make this mission happen each day, it is a reminder that the work of Jesus has the opportunity to show up wherever His people do.
So, about those words...
While debriefing our day in a conversation with Gary, one of my friends who joined me on the trip, he said the following:
"How can they do so much with so little? And why is it that we do so little with so much?"
Stop.
Read that again.
Now, read it again one more time - but out loud.
The moment it came out of his mouth, I knew it was a statement that needed pause. It needed reflection. It needed to be embedded.
Today, as we visited a clinic outside of the city, and people were lined up to receive free care, the words echoed in my mind: How can they do SO MUCH, with SO LITTLE?
My next thought: Why, at times, does it seem like we do SO LITTLE, with SO MUCH?
I think about a little boys lunch - so little, yet in the hands of Jesus it became much.
I think about a widow who had no hope and was faced with the reality of needing to sell her son, and all she had was a little oil - so little, yet in the hands of God it became more than enough.
I think about the man who asked Jesus for help and told him that he believed, but he needed help with his unbelief - so little, yet in the hands of Jesus it became much.
I am not sure what it is that you may need. No doubt, as we look at the needs of the people around us, both locally and globally, the odds don't always look good.
Here is the point: Jesus doesn't need our "much" - He simply wants our trust and our obedience. Just "a little" is a good starting point for a miracle.
Don't allow abundance to become a hinderance. Blessing has a purpose: to be a blessing. Create some space in your life today to allow the challenge of those words to create an echo in your heart.
Consider what you have been given.
Consider what you are doing with it.
