The Flea
Two fleas hopped out to the curb on their way to the “flea market” to do some shopping. One flea looked at the other and said, “Shall we walk or take a dog?”
We pay little attention to those little fellows unless they come into our homes by way of “ole Rover”. And yet the flea is an incredible little critter. It is no bigger than a grain of sand but it can hop 100 times the length of its body. For comparison, if an average sized man were to match that performance he would have to jump almost 600 feet in a single leap.
While the distance the flea can jump is incredible, his endurance is unbelievable. People who watch fleas say that the Oriental Rat Flea can hop 600 times an hour for 3 straight days! Now if my arithmetic is correct and if one average sized man would keep jumping for us, he’d travel almost 5,000 miles in 3 days – talk about saving fuel!
CONSIDER how in many ways Jesus reflected the small and insignificant. He was born in a small city, and raised in a town that evoked the statement: “Does anything good come from Nazareth!” He spoke about the faith of a mustard seed, a speck in our brother’s eye, a seed growing secretly and straining at a gnat. He fed 500 with only a boy’s lunch. He was a King and betrayed for only 30 pieces of silver. He lived but 34 years and the world knew him only four. His final gesture of smallness was the entrusting of his message to all disciples.
Jesus recognized the advantages and disadvantages of smallness. He knew it could cause people to try harder and overcome or it could cause people to become discouraged and give up. The important thing to remember is that the world and God often disagree on determining size. Nestled within the tiny bosom of an acorn is the potential of a large mighty oak. The world cannot see it, but it is there. The world measures the size of our congregations, our effectiveness, our relevancy and says small potatoes, and we get up-tight. We mustn’t forget about god’s yardstick or His way of transforming smallness into greatness.
Nestled within each of us is a small seed of greatness. Nestled within our fellowship, as the people of God, is also a small seed of greatness. The world says it is small and insignificant but God says plant it and see what happens.
Oh yeah, you know that little flea? His size doesn’t bother him – he must be in St. Louis by now.
Rev. Wendell Mettey
1/27/14
