Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Mother Teresa
Instead of focusing on doing great things on earth, why not concentrate on doing small things with great love?
From Great to Small
No one does anything great on this earth without the supernatural power of God but sometimes people get discouraged because there is so much wrong with this world that they feel that they can’t do anything. We feel we can’t do everything so sometimes we don’t do anything and that’s a mistake. The love of God can help us accomplish at least some good. You can move mountains but you may have to do it one rock at a time but at least we can all do a little something which is more than doing a big nothing. In Mother Teresa’s life she saw so much suffering and if there was anyone that might have ever felt overwhelmed it would have been her but in her godly wisdom she did lots of small things but did them with great love.
Love Fulfills the Law
Paul wrote to the church at Galatia that “the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal 5:14). What do we typically do for our neighbors? It is usually small things. When we had a widow who lived next door, my son and I would often go and pick up tree limbs and trash from her yard. Sometimes we would clean out her gutters. At other times we’d simply call her to see if she needed anything. These are all small things to us but not to her after her husband of 38 years passed away. She had lost her husband, her best friend, her helper and the one she could share life with. Now that he was gone, she was much lonelier and much less independent so we tried to do little things for her but she never thought of them as little. I would hope we did her much good as she is now with the Lord and even though they were simple, little things, I would like to think we did it with great love for her.
Love is Never Wasted
Paul writes to the Corinthians to “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor 16:14). If all you do is done in love, then all you do will be done with a sincere heart and a pure motivation. Love does for nothing in return or else it would not be love at all. With the idea of doing things for the sake of love we will do things that will have lasting value. Jesus says “if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that” (Matt 5:46-47). If what we do is only for our own friends and family, is it really love or is it partiality? Of course we can do things for our family and friends out of love but what Jesus was saying is to love those who no one else does because that rises above what the world considers normal.
Conclusion
Paul writes to the Corinthians to “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor 16:14). If all you do is done in love, then all you do will be done with a sincere heart and a pure motivation. Love does for nothing in return or else it would not be love at all. With the idea of doing things for the sake of love we will do things that will have lasting value. Jesus says “if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that” (Matt 5:46-47). If what we do is only for our own friends and family, is it really love or is it partiality? Of course we can do things for our family and friends out of love but what Jesus was saying is to love those who no one else does because that rises above what the world considers normal.
