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Published: Saturday, Sep. 15, 2012 / Updated: Saturday, Sep. 15, 2012 11:48 AM

From small beginnings to big accomplishments

I once saw a coat of arms (I believe it was that of Gen. Robert E. Lee) which depicted a squirrel planting an acorn. The idea being that before there can be a mighty towering oak there must first be the small, unassuming planting of an acorn.

Small beginnings can bring great accomplishments. Consider the head of the mighty Mississippi River is in Minnesota and at that spot one can literally step across the river with ease. Yet farther down where “Old Man River” dumps into the Gulf of Mexico, great merchant ships take advantage of the mighty expanse of this massive river.

Small beginnings can bring about great results.

Some of our greatest presidents started out with extremely humble beginnings. George Washington started with humble beginnings before becoming the “Father of our Nation.” Abraham Lincoln’s poor, rural roots and hardscrabble upbringing are legendary and yet he became one of our country’s most notable presidents.

I think also of a man who was the son of an alcoholic father. His father was a traveling salesman who couldn’t keep a job. This young boy was raised by his Calvinistic mother who grounded the boy that would eventually become the nation’s 40th president in the firm conviction that God’s word is true and that God is sovereign in all things.

Ronald Reagan eventually became the leader of the free world and he would point to these two doctrines as the single greatest spiritual forces that shaped his thinking. I am sure that the Midwestern homemaker named Nelle Reagan never dreamed of the great accomplishments this boy would achieve when he became a man. She was merely being faithful in her own small way to do well the task God had entrusted to her. She was teaching Ronnie about the Word of God, the Glory of God, and the Sovereign control of God over all things and people.

Small things can become big accomplishments when we do them faithfully for the Lord.

We must not despise the day of small things. The church began with just a handful of Christ followers and has grown into a mighty force for God in this world. Jesus likened it to a mustard seed (one of the tiniest of seeds) and said that it would grow into a mighty bush.

Small beginnings often bring about great accomplishments – but not always. Those in small churches and small ministries must struggle and work hard in an effort to grow them. God must be constantly prayed to in an effort to enlist His all-powerful hand in growing His church.

Personal faithfulness, obedience, excitement, commitment, and selfless generosity are all necessary if our small beginnings are going to end up being great accomplishments for God. Be encouraged by knowing that the possibility exists. Be motivated to do what is necessary to see that the mere possibility becomes a mighty reality.