GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 8:7
Small Things
It is not unusual to overlook the importance of small things. My son, Paul, and his wife were away from their house when water began to drip from a small hole in a water line leading to the refrigerator ice maker. By the time someone discovered the leak, water had covered the kitchen floor, seeped into the basement, and damaged the wallboard in several rooms. The damage from that small, little drip caused hundreds of dollars’ worth of damage.
The world watched on January 28, 1986, as the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into the flight, killing all seven crew members. Investigation revealed that the primary and secondary O-ring seals in a joint in the right Solid Rocket Booster of the Space Shuttle were faulty. In the 2,200-ton Challenger, a few small, little ounces of rubber gasket material failed, causing the disaster.
When Jesus prepared to feed the huge crowd in the Decapolis region, as recorded by Mark, the disciples found seven loaves in their provisions, which Jesus offered thanks for and told the disciples to begin distributing. Almost as an oversight, it seems, someone found some small fish. “And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said to place these before them also.” (Mark 8:7) Mark’s word here is in the diminutive case, so it’s rendered “small fish.” These were likely small dried or pickled fish, common in the region. These fish were not large enough to make a main meal. They were something like sardines, which could be eaten with bread to give it flavor—certainly not enough to feed 4,000 or more. But Jesus used what he had, small though it was, to do a major work.
There is a story about a widow whose provisions ran out. She searched for money, but all she found were a few small coins. When she went to the merchant to purchase food with her last small coins, the merchant spotted a rare penny in her payment and told her about it. It was a 1943 copper penny. Only about 40 were produced, and one fetched over $100,000.
Never ignore the little things—little fish, or little coins, or little…
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