Rumi Borah~aswiki, Assamese small potatoes, CC BY-SA 4.0
Business leaders like to pull paradoxical ideas together. Forbes invoked the “think big, start small” mantra to highlight transformation into a digital era with artificial intelligence (Scalerandi, 2024). Philosophers are no different. In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu mused similarly, claiming that “all difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from one in which they were small” (天下難事，必作於易，天下大事，必作於細; Sturgeon, n.d.). Jesus articulated truths that profoundly captures the paradoxical connection between small and great. Focusing His hearers’ imagination,
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
– Matthew 13: 31-32
This blog article will explore Jesus’s mustard seed wisdom. It will propose small, practical steps that we can take so that we can participate in the development of this largest of garden plants, the kingdom of heaven, becoming a safe dwelling place for the multitudes in need of true spiritual nourishment and rest.[1]
Start Small
Eugenio Hansen, OFS, Mustard seeds, CC BY-SA 4.0
God starts with small things. Those in Judea in Jesus’ time likely did not plant seeds smaller than that of a mustard seed (Benson, n.d.), so it symbolized how even in the tiny God could do His work. God honors the small: “…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (New International Version Bible, 2011, Matt 17:20).
In the Old Testament we remember that God would not destroy as few as ten righteous persons if they were to be found in Sodom (New International Version Bible, 2011, Genesis 18: 24-32). God used Gideon to lead Israel, even though his “clan [was] the weakest in Manasseh” and he considered himself the least among them (Judg 6:15). Israel’s first king, Saul, arose from the smallest tribe, Benjamin, and from the smallest clan in it (I Sam 9:21). David was the youngest of his family, but chosen by God to replace Saul (I Sam 16: 11-12). And, as if to remind Israel of its littleness, the Lord said this to them: “Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel” (Isa 41:14).
Jesus appreciated even the smallest expression of faith. He challenged His disciples when all they had were a young boy’s five meager loaves of bread and two fish to feed a multitude (New International Version Bible, 2011, Matt 14:16-21, Mark 6:35-44, John 6:8-11). He noted the great faith found in the poor widow’s offering of “two very small copper coins” (Luke 21:2).
God’s Word clearly recognizes the small. That’s who we are and where we each begin: “The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly” (New International Version Bible, 2011, Isa 60:22). Echoing throughout Scripture is a respect for the little, captured in the prophet’s rhetorical question posed as the temple was about to be rebuilt: “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone[a] in the hand of Zerubbabel?” (Zech 4:10).
Connect to the Bigger Dream
As Isaiah and Zechariah suggest, God celebrates the little not just for its own sake, but as a starting point toward a larger dream. Jesus fed the thousands with the expression of one boy’s faith. The piety of the poor widow convicts us all in our charity before God. Jesus truly expects greater things from those who follow Him (New International Version Bible, 2011, John 14:12), as the well-known verse reminds us. But how do we get there?
Let God Be God
The Psalmist modeled how we are to dream God’s dream:
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.– Psalm 126:1-3
These stirring verses remind us that God expects us to share in His dream, be it to evangelize a nation, transform a character, or build a community led by His Spirit. But they also focus us on God, not us, doing the work.
Taking our cue from this emphasis, we note that some things are beyond our ability to know: “My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me” (New International Version Bible, 2011, Ps 131:1). For instance, we cannot know if a dream and plan for world evangelism will hasten the Lord’s return, as much as we may long for it. Miroslav Volf (2019) argued that the “grand narratives” sometimes used to unify political, economic, and religious perspectives often get mired in arguments. Only God sees all. Volf (2019) claimed that it is God, not humanity, who will enact the “final reconciliation,” marking “the eschatological new beginning of this world” (p. 109). We are just humans, trying our best, but must leave God to do His work on things great and wonderful, in His time.
Take it One Step at a Time
Armed with the reassurance that a good God is in control of the larger story, we can engage in our immediate context humbly, content to take things one step at a time. God will eventually have everyone bow at the name of Jesus (New International Version Bible, 2011, Phil 2:9-11). In the meantime, we locate ourselves in God’s grand scheme.
Take for example, how Peter found himself in God’s grand plan to include the Gentiles in the promise of salvation. Did he anticipate how God was opening the door to the Gentiles? Or did he simply take one step at a time, trusting God at each juncture?
Illustrator of Henry Davenport Northrop’s ‘Treasures of the Bible’, 1894, Peter’s vision of the sheet with animals, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
Peter did not travel to Cornelius’ house in a straight line: his movement to that non-Judean locality came in a succession of incremental, singly disjointed movements. In Acts 9 Peter traveled alone to visit believers in Lydda, where he healed Aeneas (New International Version Bible, 2011, Acts 9:32-35). Having heard that he was in nearby Lydda, disciples in Joppa who mourned Tabitha called upon him, asking him to come immediately (Acts 9:38). After raising Tabitha from the dead, Peter “stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon” (Acts 9:43). Then, going up to the roof to pray, Peter became hungry and experienced a vision from God. Meanwhile, an angel of God spoke with God-fearing Cornelius, telling him to send men to Joppa, to Simon the tanner’s house, to call for Peter (Acts 10:5-6).
God was orchestrating the larger narrative: the Holy Spirit encouraged Peter to welcome the three men sent by Cornelius. He then went with them to meet Cornelius and the others, proclaim Jesus to them all, and have them baptized (Acts 10:23-48). Neither Peter nor Cornelius authored this story—each of them simply proceeded step-by-step, in reaction to God’s leadership, trusting in His goodness and sovereignty.
Practice Each Little Step Along the Way
Unknown, Thérèse de Lisieux in 1885, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
Catholic nun St. Thérèse Lisieux (1873-1897) put forward a spiritual practice that serves as an antidote to overweening ambition, appropriately named the “Little Way” (Kosloski, 2023). Her life cut short by tuberculosis, Thérèse wanted to climb the ladder of spirituality toward God, one rung at a time. Eschewing “grandiose sacrifices to God, but seeking little acts of holiness” (Kosloski, 2023, para 6), Thérèse espoused practicing the small, unseen steps of love in everyday interactions with family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and even strangers (Hadley, 2019). The Little Way teaches us to practice living in the little virtues or habits developed in our daily lives. For example, in a recent ministry project focusing on the Little Way, one person decided to send a message of encouragement to someone each time he went on a public transit commute. Someone else decide to put her smartphone aside the moment she returned home from work, not touching it until a few hours later, in order to love her husband and children without distraction. My Little Way was praying a quiet prayer for another person the moment I was tempted to think less lovingly of him.
Before God we are just little children (New International Version Bible, 2011, Matt 18:3). In each thought or action, we can be motivated by love for God and for another person, as the two greatest commandments teach (Matt 22: 37-39).
Final Thoughts
As Christians, we make sense of the call to “think big” and “start small” when we find our place in God’s larger mission of transforming this world into His new creation, one person and one community at a time. Jesus held these two polarities in healthy tension. When we let go and let God do it, then we can walk with Him one step at a time, accomplishing His will in our lives and daily interactions with others. Furthermore, we can direct our energy into infusing as much faith and love into those quiet, often invisible thoughts and actions with others around us.
Combining all of these efforts together, God then multiplies the impact, creating ripples of influence that accumulate into a critical mass (Morgan, 2006) of change. Rather than bearing the burden of overturning all unrighteousness, we await God’s hand, but we do not rest. We play our roles to nudge and confront others as tempered radicals (Meyerson, 2011), challenging injustice and untruth while waiting for Jesus to return to put all things aright. Put another way, for us to “do even greater things” depends upon relying on the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, who came to guide us going forward (New International Version Bible, 2011, John 14: 12, 16: 6-15).
Lao Tzu asserted that “…the sage never strives for greatness and can therefore accomplish greatness” (是以聖人終不為大，故能成其大; Sturgeon, n.d.). What we consider as great may just be very tiny in God’s eyes, anyway. May we embrace God’s big dream and take our small little steps, never despising “the day of small things” (New International Version Bible, 2011, Zech 4:10). And perhaps a mess of small potatoes can amount to something, in God.
Questions to Consider
- Are you a big dreamer? Or a step-by-step plodder? Find someone different from you and spend time together, appreciating the other’s character and learning from one another.
- Reflect on Peter’s experience as outlined above, where he realized God was leading him to call on Cornelius and his family to be baptized. Have you ever encountered a time when you realized God’s leadership only after the fact, like him? Share this with a friend.
- Reread the section above on the Little Way. Discuss with your small group what Little Ways you will implement in your lives for the next month. Afterwards, gather to share lessons learned.
References
Benson. (n.d.). Matthew 13. Matthew 13 Benson commentary. https://biblehub.com/commentaries/benson/matthew/13.htm
Hadley, C. (2019, September 19). Living little: A reflection on the little way of St. Therese of Lisieux. The Catholic Company®. https://www.catholiccompany.com /magazine/living-little-st-therese-of-lisieux-6501
Kosloski, P. (2023, September 27). What is the “Little way” of St. Thérèse of Lisieux? Aleteia. https://aleteia.org/2021/10/03/what-is-the-little-way-of-st-therese-of-lisieux
Meyerson, D. (2011). Radical change, the quiet way. In HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Change Management (pp. 58-78). Harvard Business Review Press.
Morgan, G. (2006). Images of organization. Sage Publications.
New International Version Bible. (2011). NIV online. https://www.biblestudytools.com/niv/
Scalerandi, D. (2024, March 4). Council post: Why “think big, start small” is the best approach to digital acceleration. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/02/18/why-think-big-start-small-is-the- best-approach-todigitalacceleration/?sh=2f96f9b91519
Sturgeon, D. (n.d.). Dao de Jing – Chinese Text Project. https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
Volf, M. (2019). Exclusion and embrace (Revised & updated ed.). Abingdon Press.
[1] I am grateful for my instructor’s guidance and the encouragement of fellow students in my master program course in Hospitality as Leadership for much of the insight and content in this blog article.